Maryland’s ‘Dandy Fifth’ celebrates 238th anniversary

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”1847″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css_animation=”fadeIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn” css=”.vc_custom_1500570017411{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Story and photos by Sgt. Breeanna Pierce[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn” css=”.vc_custom_1500570111741{margin: 0px !important;border-width: 0px !important;padding: 0px !important;}”]The Maryland National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 175th Infantry Regiment held its annual Pass in Review ceremony, concurrently celebrating the regiment’s 238th anniversary, at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore, Dec. 1.

The Pass in Review is a long-standing military tradition that began as a way for a newly assigned commander to inspect the troops. Through a display of drill and ceremony, a unit illustrates its professionalism before an audience of leadership and peers.

“The Pass in Review is designed to present the command to the reviewing officers,” said Lt. Col. (Ret.) Delbert R. Parks III, outgoing honorary colonel of the regiment. “It has always been a way to ‘strut your stuff.'”

Current and former members of the 175th, also known as “The Dandy Fifth of Maryland,” attended and paid their respects to the unit’s historic legacy.

“We do the Pass in Review on the first Saturday in December every year because that is the anniversary of when the regiment was formed back in 1774 by a merchant named Mordecai Gist,” said Parks. “In 1776, [the regiment] marched up to Brooklyn to participate in the Battle of Long Island. The Maryland regiment was the only regiment in the Revolutionary War that fought in both the Northern battles and the Southern theater.”

Parks, a former 175th commander, has participated in the annual Pass in Review since 1983. Nearly two decades later, he still takes pride in sharing the regimental heritage with aspiring junior members of the unit.

Special appointees holding the position of HCOR are charged with a mission to carry on the legacy of a regiment or corps to strengthen unit morale.

“As the honorary colonel, it is my job to make sure that the traditions and the history of the regiment get passed down to the younger Soldiers,” said Parks. “Going back to Mordecai Gist [and] the Battle of Brooklyn, up through present-day deployments into Iraq, it’s a very significant and noteworthy organization.”

The ceremony was Parks’ last as the regiment’s honorary colonel, as he participated in an exchange of unit colors, transferring his role and responsibilities to Lt. Col. (Ret.) Cecil Philips, the incoming honorary colonel.

The “Dandy Fifth of Maryland” not only honored past accomplishments but highlighted several current Soldiers for their hard work and dedication to the Maryland Army National Guard.

During the event, Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Magnum, command sergeant major of 1-175th, publicly recognized Spc. Travis H. Smith, a javelin gunner with the battalion’s B Company, for his selection as 2012 Battalion Best Warrior.

As a Guardsman with active-duty Army roots, Smith, who has been with the battalion for two years, takes pride in being a part of its heritage.

“It felt good coming to a unit that [places] such a value on tradition and upholding the names of those who came before us,” he said. “Because we have such a history, it gives us a responsibility to perform.”

As another year comes to a close, Maryland’s “Dandy Fifth” continues to protect and serve the Maryland National Guard, as an example of a regiment that never forgets to pay tribute to the forefathers who shaped its historic legacy.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row]