November 7 wreath laying ceremony in Garden City commemorates the creation of the 42nd Infantry Division

42nd Infantry Division Soldiers deployed to the Middle East from June 2025 to June 2026 and supported Operation Epic Fury

GARDEN CITY, New York (11/05/2026) — Veterans of the 42nd Infantry Division will commemorate the division and mark Veterans Day with their annual wreath-laying ceremony at the historic World War I Rainbow Division Veterans Memorial in Garden City.

The event follows the September 2026 return of Soldiers from the New York Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division Headquarters, including Long Island-based Soldiers, following a year-long deployment to the Middle East. The division

WHAT: Annual wreath-laying ceremony honoring the service and sacrifice of Soldiers and veterans of the 42nd Infantry "Rainbow" Division from World War I to the present day. The division traditionally presents a memorial wreath each year at sites connected to the Rainbow Division's storied history. During World War I Garden City was the site of the camp at which the 42nd Infantry Division assembled before heading overseas to France.

Soldiers of the 42nd Infantry Division headquarters were deployed in the Middle East from June 2025 to June 2026 and wound up conducting combat operations against Iran as part of Operation Epic Fury.

WHO: Members of the 42nd Infantry Division Veterans Association, Soldiers and veterans of the New York Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division, elected officials, community leaders, and veterans organizations.

WHEN: Noon, Saturday, Nov. 7. (Ceremony participants arrive at 11:30 a.m.)

WHERE: Rainbow Division World War I Memorial, Clinton Street and Commercial Boulevard, Garden City, New York

The memorial stands across the street from the former entrance to Camp Mills, where the 42nd Infantry Division trained and mobilized for deployment to France during World War I.

WHY:The ceremony pays tribute to the legacy of the 42nd Infantry Division, which was created in 1917 at Camp Mills near present-day Garden City. The division was formed from National Guard units representing 26 states and the District of Columbia. The division's first chief of staff, then-Col. Douglas MacArthur, said the division would stretch across the United States "like a rainbow," giving the unit its enduring nickname.

The ceremony also comes on the heels of the return of the New York Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division Headquarters from a year-long deployment to the Middle East. More than 500 Soldiers mobilized in May 2025 and deployed as Task Force Spartan, serving as the command headquarters for U.S. military operations in the region. The division transferred authority in 2026 and formally uncased its colors during a homecoming ceremony in September 2026.

Among those deployed were Long Island Soldiers assigned to the 42nd Infantry Division Headquarters and supporting New York Army National Guard units, continuing a tradition of military service that stretches back to Camp Mills, where Rainbow Division Soldiers trained before deploying to France during World War I.

The Veterans Day observance connects today's Soldiers of the New York Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division with more than a century of service by Rainbow Division Soldiers dating back to Camp Mills and World War I.

ABOUT THE MEMORIAL:Located on a quarter-acre triangular plot, the monument is a 15-foot-by-5-foot obelisk of Alabama limestone. Inscribed on it are a lone bugler standing in a military cemetery, a list of the units that made up the Rainbow Division, the states they came from, and the names of the World War I campaigns in which they fought. The monument was originally dedicated in 1941 and has been rededicated several times, including during the division's centennial commemoration in 2017.

ABOUT THE FOUNDATION:The memorial wreath is provided by the Rainbow Division Veterans Foundation Memorials Committee, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to commemorating the deeds, sacrifices and traditions of the 42nd Infantry Division through memorials, education and preservation of the division's history. The foundation oversees dozens of memorial sites throughout the United States and Europe where 42nd Division Soldiers served.

Visuals of veterans placing a memorial wreath at the site of the World War I mobilization grounds of Camp Mills, birthplace of the Rainbow Division. Interviews available with veterans and association members regarding Veterans Day, the history of the Rainbow Division, Long Island's role in its formation, and the recent return of Soldiers from the New York Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division Headquarters and supporting units following their Task Force Spartan deployment to the Middle East.

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