Firefighter Hero to Lead St. Patricks Day Parade

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A Pat on hero's back

Fighting 69th vet to lead parade in honor of slain pal

BY NANCY DILLON

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Firefighter Dan Swift will lead the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Fellow Bravest Christian Engledrum was killed in Iraq.

Fighting 69th hero Daniel Swift will lead the city’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade today with one thing on his mind — his fellow firefighter, soldier and pal Christian Engeldrum.

When a rare Bronze Star with Valor is pinned on his uniform at a glittering afternoon ceremony - the culmination of the battalion's homecoming festivities - Swift will thank "Drum" again.

"He saved my life," the 25-year-old firefighter said yesterday from Ladder 43 in East Harlem. "He fought with me to make me wear my goggles that day in Iraq. If he hadn't, I'd have shrapnel in my brain."

The Fighting 69th returned from a year-long tour in Iraq last September but reserved its formal homecoming ceremony for St. Pat's Day.

One of the unit's saddest days came Nov. 29, 2004, when Swift and Engeldrum were part of an ill-fated Humvee patrol that was ambushed and hit with 300 pounds of explosives on a rural road in Taji.

Engeldrum, a 39-year-old married father of three, and Long Island soldier Wilfredo Urbina, 29, were killed instantly.

Swift's Bronze Star is recognition for how he crawled through the smoking wreckage to assist his injured comrades.

As the group's medic, he saved the life of one soldier who was unconscious and choking on his own tongue.

"It's such a fantastic honor. My legs are shaking," Swift said. "But I'll dedicate [the medal] to Engeldrum. He was always the go-to guy when things were on."

The 69th, which started as an Irish-American militia in New York, has led the parade every year since the annual march started in 1852. This year will be an especially proud occasion.

"New York City's own infantry regiment is home," declared Lt. Col. Geoffrey Slack, the commander who led the 672 Fighting 69th soldiers in Taji and Baghdad. "To me this is closure. It's the end of a long road for us."

Nineteen soldiers from the 69th were killed in action in Iraq - 10 from the New York National Guard and nine Louisiana soldiers assigned to serve with the battalion. More than 50 others were wounded.

"I was in the first group to get hit, but there were a lot of guys who did so much in Iraq. I feel like it should be 60 or 70 guys getting Bronze Stars," Swift said.

Indeed, 49 soldiers in the New York battalion earned Bronze Stars for their service in Iraq, but only four, including Swift's, carry the extra commendation for valor.

"This is long overdue for us," said Sgt. Leon Mabra, 38, an NYPD cop. "We had roadside bombs, ambushes, rocket propelled grenades [in Iraq] - it will be nice to hear the roar of the New York crowds instead."

Some 25 Louisiana soldiers who fought with the 69th will also be on hand.

"I'm excited. This is the first time we'll all be back in formation as a group, including the guys who went out of service and the Louisiana guys," said Swift, who spent two weeks in a U.S. military hospital in Germany before returning stateside for months of rehabilitation.

He regained all but 20% of the vision in his injured right eye.

"The [parade and ceremony] will bring back a lot of memories, both good and bad. But we need to deal with them to move on," said Sgt. Norberto Carrasquillo, 36, of the Bronx. "I remember going to bed at night with the feeling that my trailer was going to blow up. ...it's good to be home."

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Danny's a good kid. It's nice to see he got this honor.