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Sadly, Firefighters Couldn’t Take Part In Wearin’ Of The Green View From The Middle
How absurd! How completely childish of Fire Department brass to have — all of a sudden — flexed their muscles, pointed their fingers and told the active and retired members from the 6th Division, Engine 60 (in the South Bronx) that, although they had done it for the past 30 years, they couldn’t march in the parade on that special day if they were to wear green berets. Turned out that hundreds of them — some said the ranks of those not marching totaled more like 800 to 1,000 — boycotted the parade and, instead, opted to stand on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum, green tam o’ shanters a-gleaming and in civilian clothes, as the colors passed. What happened is this: On March 4, Fire Depart-ment Chief Peter Hayden (obviously an Irishman himself), issued an order stating that uniform regulations must be enforced and that excluded green berets. He cited the fact that the FDNY is a paramilitary organization and thus must follow those disciplinary rules. In an editorial reply to the Daily News last week, before the parade, he said in recent years he found the “disintegration of our marching formation in the parade embarrassing...and the disregard for the uniform disrespectful of those who gave their lives in the line of duty.” He also noted that, in the past, the media have criticized the department for their lack of discipline. Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta backed Hayden to the core, and Mayor Bloomberg also agreed. Now, the members of the Fire Department have always been an integral part of that particular parade. Hell, what would it be without ’em? As it turned out, the FDNY was well represented in the parade itself anyway — besides those who stood on the Met steps — so it’s not as if they were left out. The pipe and drum marchers, including the FDNY Emerald Society, complete with Irish skirts and bagpipes blaring and humming, even stopped in front of the museum in loud acknowledgment, and respect, of their comrades. Somehow, I know that Scoppetta and Hayden and Bloomberg are right. We all know that, deep down. But, well...once in awhile you sort of break the rules, y’know? Especially if you know it won’t hurt anybody. They could have said, “Now look, you’ve got to toe the mark. Have respect for the uniform and others will have respect for you, but this once, go ahead and wear the hat. By God, you’ve earned it.” No, it wouldn’t have hurt. And it would have shown that, behind that tough exterior they all have, is some sensitivity, a sense of camaraderie between the brass and the rank and file, a sense of humor and, yes, the wink of an Irish eye.
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