81st Wildcat WWI color guard marches in 57th Presidential Inauguration parade

By Sgt. 1st Class Joel QuebecJanuary 29, 2013

81st Wildcat WWI color guard marches in 57th Presidential Inauguration parade
1 / 17 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Practicing for the 57th Inauguration Parade, the 81st Regional Support Command historical World War I color guard dons replica WWI wool uniforms and marches with flags and rifles at Fort Jackson, S.C., on Jan. 17. The Wildcat color guard was one of 1... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
81st Wildcat WWI color guard marches in 57th Presidential Inauguration parade
2 / 17 Show Caption + Hide Caption – First Sgt. Thomas White of Headquarters Company, 98th Training Division, also a civilian with the 81st Regional Support Command Directorate of Human Resources, is interviewed on January 17 by local South Carolina TV stations about his participation i... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
81st Wildcat WWI color guard marches in 57th Presidential Inauguration parade
3 / 17 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Practicing for the 57th Inauguration Parade, the 81st Regional Support Command historical World War One color guard dons replica WWI wool uniforms and marches with flags and rifles at Fort Jackson, S.C., on Jan. 17. The Wildcat color guard was one of... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
81st Wildcat WWI color guard marches in 57th Presidential Inauguration parade
4 / 17 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Practicing for the 57th Inauguration Parade, the 81st Regional Support Command historical World War One color guard dons replica WWI wool uniforms and marches with flags and rifles at Fort Jackson, S.C., on Jan. 17. The Wildcat color guard was one of... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
81st Wildcat WWI color guard marches in 57th Presidential Inauguration parade
5 / 17 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The 81st Regional Support Command historian Dr. John Boyd assists Staff Sgt. Jeremy Glasco with the fitting of a replica World War One uniform at Fort Jackson, S.C., on Jan. 9. The 81st RSC was chosen to march in the 57th Inauguration Parade in Washi... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
81st Wildcat WWI color guard marches in 57th Presidential Inauguration parade
6 / 17 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Practicing for the 57th Inauguration Parade, the 81st Regional Support Command historical World War One color guard dons replica WWI wool uniforms and marches with flags and rifles. The Wildcat color guard was one of 105 marching units chosen out of ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
81st Wildcat WWI color guard marches in 57th Presidential Inauguration parade
7 / 17 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The 81st Regional Support Command historical World War One color guard practices for the 57th Inauguration Parade at Fort Jackson, S.C., on Jan. 14. The parade was held in Washington on Jan. 21. Carrying the banner in the the foreground are Spec. Ant... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
81st Wildcat WWI color guard marches in 57th Presidential Inauguration parade
8 / 17 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Under the watchful eye of Capt. Christina Teagarden, the 81st Regional Support Command's historical World War I color guard practices for the 57th Inauguration Parade at Fort Jackson, S.C., on Jan. 14. The parade was held in Washington, on Jan. 21. M... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
81st Wildcat WWI color guard marches in 57th Presidential Inauguration parade
9 / 17 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The 81st Regional Support Command historical World War I color guard practices for the 57th Inauguration Parade on Fort Jackson, S.C., on Jan. 14. From left to right, Dane Coffman, Capt. Christina Teagarden, retired Col./Dr. John Boyd, Staff Sgt. Jer... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
81st Wildcat WWI color guard marches in 57th Presidential Inauguration parade
10 / 17 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The 81st Regional Support Command provided a historical World War I color guard and banner bearers for the 57th Inauguration Parade on Jan. 21. The day before, the Wildcats met with South Carolina 2nd District Congressman Joe Wilson and took photos a... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
81st Wildcat WWI color guard marches in 57th Presidential Inauguration parade
11 / 17 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The 81st Regional Support Command provided a historical World War I color guard and banner bearers for the 57th Inauguration Parade on Jan. 21. The day before, the Wildcats met with South Carolina 2nd District Congressman Joe Wilson and took photos a... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
81st Wildcat WWI color guard marches in 57th Presidential Inauguration parade
12 / 17 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The 81st Regional Support Command historical World War I color guard and banner bearers for the 57th Inauguration Parade await a meeting with South Carolina 2nd District Congressman Joe Wilson in Washington on Jan. 20. Later that day, they also took ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
81st Wildcat WWI color guard marches in 57th Presidential Inauguration parade
13 / 17 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The 81st Regional Support Command provided a historical World War I color guard and banner bearers for the 57th Inauguration Parade on Jan. 21. The day before, the Wildcats met with South Carolina 2nd District Congressman Joe Wilson and took photos a... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
81st Wildcat WWI color guard marches in 57th Presidential Inauguration parade
14 / 17 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Meredith Kelly, a broadcast journalist for Elon Local News and Elon University in Elon, N.C., interviews Dr. John Boyd, Dane Coffman and Thomas White just before the Presidential Inauguration Parade in Washington, on Jan. 21. The WWI historical color... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
81st Wildcat WWI color guard marches in 57th Presidential Inauguration parade
15 / 17 Show Caption + Hide Caption – With the Washington Monument in the background, Meredith Kelly, a broadcast journalist for Elon Local News and Elon University in Elon, N.C., interviews Dr. John Boyd, Dane Coffman and 1st Sgt. Thomas White just before the Presidential Inauguration P... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
81st Wildcat WWI color guard marches in 57th Presidential Inauguration parade
16 / 17 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The 81st Regional Support Command historical World War I color guard stands by Civil War reenactors representing the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry just before the 57th Presidential Inauguration Parade in Washington, on Jan. 21. From ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
81st Wildcat WWI color guard marches in 57th Presidential Inauguration parade
17 / 17 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The 81st Regional Support Command color guard after successfully completing the 57th Presidential Inauguration Parade on January 21 in Washington, D.C. SPC Antoinette Walker, Mr. Thomas White, SSG Jeremy Glasco, Mr. Dane Coffman, Dr. John Boyd, parad... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Washington, D.C. -- For our countries leaders, the road to Washington is paved with politics. For eight Soldiers of the 81st Regional Support Command, their path to the nation's capitol was carved out of history via the lineage of service and sacrifice of 81st Infantry Division Wildcats from World Wars One and Two and various conflicts up to the present day.

On January 21 the 81st RSC's historical WWI color guard marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in the 57th Presidential Inauguration parade. Preparation and practice for the event began weeks earlier after command historian Dr. John Boyd was informed that his application had been approved - one out of over 2,000 others from which 105 were actually chosen. Boyd expected rejection rather than acceptance. "I have applied for this event every [election] year since 1992," he told local news reporters when they stopped by Fort Jackson to do a story during a dress rehearsal.

In the application, Boyd highlighted the back story of the 81st Wildcats, the unit patch being the first ever in the Army, the Division's World War record as well as the current operations. "I told them there probably wouldn't be many doughboys in the parade," he said.

Once the application was accepted and participants were indentified, practicing became paramount to mission success. Two troops were to carry a new 81st RSC banner while four were in the replica WWI uniforms and one was in a WWII uniform. A civilian, who does era presentations in the Columbia area, wore an authentic WWI outfit. Mr. Dane Coffman, who bears a striking resemblance to Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, rounded out the group. The final dress rehearsal left the team feeling good about their upcoming appearance in front of the Commander-in-Chief.

The day before the parade, the group headed into D.C. from their hotel in Fairfax, Va., and met, in costume, with Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina's 2nd District. Wilson welcomed the group into his office and took photos with the entire team. He wished them luck and thanked them for traveling all the way to D.C. for the event.

After meeting with Wilson, more photos were taken in front of the U.S. Capitol building as it was bedecked with patriotic streamers and American flags. For the rest of the afternoon, the Wildcats got the paparazzi experience. All sorts of people from all over the world asked to take pictures with them. They were even interviewed live to Paris by a French TV station. On the day of the parade, Elon Local News from Elon University in North Carolina and KITV-4 from Honolulu interviewed different members.

Prior to the parade itself, the anticipation was palpable. While at the staging area, to kill time, two high school drum-lines faced off in a friendly competition. Jackson Memorial High School from New Jersey and Kamehameha High School from Honolulu performed various percussion arrangements much to enjoyment of those waiting to march and the crowd behind the barriers.

During the parade, spectators cheered and waved. South Carolinians made themselves and their pride known. History buffs yelled out "Doughboys!" as the color guard passed them. Every half a mile or so, there were announcers telling the crowd who it was they were seeing.

As the 81st Wildcats passed the reviewing stand and the First Family stood for the colors, "Gen. Pershing" rendered the salute to the President. As they reached the release area, Boyd called out, "We did it!"

"This was a great experience," said Capt. Christina Teagarden, the officer in charge. "I'm extremely proud of them."

"It's an honor and a privilege to represent the 81st in this parade," said Staff Sgt. Jeremy Glasco. "I got to carry the colors in front of the President of the United States. How many people get to do that?"

"It was outstanding," said Spec. Antoinette Walker who helped carry the 81st banner. "But it was surreal. You don't think it's something you would ever get to do until you actually do it, but it is such an honor." All of the 81st Soldiers expressed great pride in having been selected to participate in the parade. "I have 'perma-grin' whenever I talk about it," Walker added.

The color guard consisted of retired Col./Dr. John Boyd and First Sgt. Thomas White as rifleman, Staff Sgt. Jeremy Glasco with the National Colors, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jeff Osler with the 81st Division colors. Mr. Dane Coffman, a local civilian re-enactor, was dressed as Gen. John J. Pershing. The banner bearers were Staff Sgt. Neisha Boyd and Spec. Antoinette Walker. Capt. Christina Teagarden and First Sgt. Bill Goss served as key support staff.

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81st Wildcat WWI color guard marches in 57th Presidential Inauguration parade