CONTACT: New York National Guard Honors President Martin Van Buren

FOR RELEASE: Friday, Dec 04, 2009

KINDERHOOK, NY (11/30/2009)--Brigadier General Patrick Murphy, Deputy Director of Joint Staff for the New York National Guard , marks the 227th birthday of President Martin Van Buren by laying a wreath at Van Buren's grave site in Kinderhook New York on Friday. Dec. 4. WHO: Brig. Gen. Patrick Murphy, Director of Joint Staff for the New York Army National Guard, Chaplain (COL) Eric Olsen, New York Army National Guard Soldiers, Kinderhook local officials and area elementary school students. WHAT: Annual recognition of former President Martin Van Buren, a Columbia County native who died -on July 24, 1862 in Kinderhook, N.Y. He was born on Dec. 5, 1782. WHEN: 10 .m. Friday, Dec. 4. WHERE: Kinderhook Cemetery, County Route 21, Kinderhook New York. WHY: The United States Military honors our former presidents by laying wreaths at their gravesites on the anniversary of their birth. The New York Army and Air National Guard traditionally conduct the wreath layings at the graves of President Chester A. Arthur in Menands, and President Martin Van Buren in Kinderhook. Coverage Opportunities: Images of the wreath laying ceremony, military colorguard, and troops in formation. There will be opportunities to interview ceremony participants. Background: Martin Van Buren: Van Buren was the first president born under the U.S. flag. A historical marker on Kinderhook's Hudson Street indicates the site of the Van Buren family tavern, where the president-to-be was born in 1782. He's buried in the family plot at the Kinderhook Reformed Cemetery. Van Buren served in the White House from 1837 to 1841. He ran for re-election in 1840 but was defeated by William Henry Harrison. He sought the Democratic nomination for president in 1844, but lost to James K. Polk. In 1848 he was the unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Free-Soil Party, a group opposing an extension of slavery. That defeat marked the end of his political career. Brig. Gen. Patrick Murphy Brigadier General Patrick A. Murphy assumed duties as Director, Joint Staff, New York National Guard, in Latham, New York on 8 July 2007. He is responsible for directing activities of the Joint Force Headquarters - New York, Joint Staff and is the principle advisor to the Adjutant General on domestic operations and joint force issues. Murphy's military service began in 1977 when he enlisted in the Iowa Army National Guard. He attended the Iowa Military Academy, Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in 1979. Murphy attended helicopter flight training with a follow-on assignment as an aero-scout pilot. He has served as a company and battalion commander, and on a number of staff positions at battalion and brigade. From July 2000 to September 2001 he served as anti-terrorism/Force Protection Officer at United States Joint Forces Command and also as Chief of the Deliberate Plans Branch at Joint Forces Command. From December 2001 to July 2003 he served as Director of Operations for Joint Task Force Civil Support at Fort Monroe, Va. After serving as the Chief of the Civil support Plans Division at United States Northern Command, Murphy spent more than two years serving as Assistant Chief of Staff for National Guard Affairs at Coalition Forces Land Component Command in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Murphy is a graduate of Iowa State University, and holds a Master of Public Administration from Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, PA. He is a graduate of the United States Army War College. His awards include the Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Army Aviation Badge, The Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal. FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-Army-National-Guard/112535293973?ref=search&sid=100000443776901.3155842963..1 Twitter: http://twitter.com/NationalGuardNY YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/nynationalguard