The Fighting 69th and Garden City

There is a monument in honor of the 42nd Rainbow Division, on the site of what was Camp Albert Mills. The "Fighting 69th" was an integral part in the formation of the Division in August 1917. The Chief of Staff Major Douglas MacArthur remarked that the Division "would stretch over the whole country like a rainbow". The 27,000 soldiers came from 26 states and the District of Columbia. MacArthur subsequently became the commander of the Rainbow Division.

The monument is located in Garden City, on a triangular garden site between Clinton Road, St. James Street South and Rainbow Place, 1 1/2 blocks south of Stewart Avenue. Directly south of the former LIRR Hempstead Crossing.

Highlights on the Monument


A fully-equipped "Doughboy"


Ambulance Company:
165th
166th
167th
168th


Killed in Action 2950
Wounded in Action 13292

The 42nd U.S. Infantry Division
"Rainbow Division"

83rd Infantry Brigade:
165th Infantry Regiment (formerly New York's 69th)
166th Infantry Regiment (formerly Ohio's 4th)
149th Machine Gun Battalion
150th Machine Gun Battalion

84th Infantry Brigade:
167th Infantry Regiment (formerly Alabama's 4th)
168th Infantry Regiment (formerly Iowa's 3rd)
151st Machine Gun Battalion
67th Field Artillery Brigade
149th (75 milimeter gun)
150th (155 milimeter howitzer)
151st (75 milimeter gun)
117th Headquarter Troop
117th Engineers
117th Field Signal
117th Train Hq Military Police
117th Ammunition Train
117th Supply Train
117th Trench Mortar Battalion
117th Engineer Train

Bugler at a military cemetery.


Field Hospital:
165th
166th
167th
168th

This feature's content was contributed by Irish Cultural Society member Thomas Lee.

 Return to Home Page