NY Army National Guard soldiers touring WWI battlefields

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A group of soldiers from a Syracuse-based New York Army National Guard unit are in Europe to commemorate the U.S. military’s role in World War I.

National Guard officials say 10 soldiers from the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team will participate in a memorial event Wednesday at the Somme American Cemetery in Bony, France.

The soldiers will tour battlefields in France and neighbouring Belgium before visiting the site of the 27th Division’s offensive German defences in late September 1918. The division was made up of New York National Guard regiments called up for federal duty in the summer of 1917.

Other groups from New York have recently toured or are currently touring WWI battlefields to commemorate the centennial of America fighting in WWI, including a contingent from the National Guard’s Troy-based 42nd Infantry Division.