Bayshore
Syracuse
Buffalo
Tears and Cheers Across the Empire State Photos by Lt. Col. Paul Fanning, Senior Master Sgt. Raymond L. Lloyd, Sgt. Christopher Connelly, Sgt. Kevin Abbott, and Spc. Jennifer Ocque.
From Suffolk County Community College Sports Center on Long Island to Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, New Yorkers gathered Jan.16 to cheer the men and women of the 27th Brigade Combat Team, as they prepared to leave for mobilization stations. On Long Island the United Services Organizations entertained members of 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry, who are deploying as part of 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry. In New York City members of the famed “Fighting 69th� said goodbye at a Hunter College ceremony, while the Soldiers of the 106th Regional Training Institute mustered at Camp Smith for a farewell. Winter 2008
In Ithaca, 2nd Bn., 108th Inf. Soldiers gathered for a small ceremony. The largest gathering was at Hancock Field in Syracuse, where 240 members of the 27th BCT HQ heard N.Y. Governor Eliot Spitzer speak. In Rochester, two companies of the 427th Brigade Support Battalion, were hailed in individual ceremonies. In Buffalo, Company C , 427th BSB conducted a sendoff at the Connecticut Street armory, while later in the day, troopers of 2nd Squadron 101st Cavalry marched into Ralph Wilson Stadium. All the events had one thing in common: tears came as Soldiers and their families realized they were about to say goodbye for a year. 11