War Hero To Lead Pearl River St. Patrick's Day Parade
PEARL RIVER, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - There will be a hero's welcome this Sunday for a hometown boy who did his duty with pride.
30-year-old Sgt. Kieran Murphy was with the Fighting 69th in Afghanistan when a roadside bomb shattered his leg and injured his back last year.
Sgt. Murphy doesn't like a fuss.
War Hero To Lead Pearl River St. Patrick's Day Parade
The Pearl River St. Patrick's Day parade committee first told his mother that he was chosen to be the parade commander. She persuaded him to say yes.
"She calls me up and she's all excited. I don't really like the limelight that much," Sgt. Murphy told WCBS 880 reporter Sean Adams. "She was like, 'I would be really proud of you, Kieran, if you did this. So it was kind of a Irish guilt in there."
"When mother says please, you oblige?" queried Adams.
"Definitely," he said.
He says it will be a great day to be Irish and American.
He's still recovering from his injuries.
"I'm not going to be running a marathon, but hopefully I'll be able to march the rest of this parade," he said. "I'm going to be smiling from ear to ear. I've only ever seen this parade from the sidelines and it's a hell of a parade to witness. It's the second largest in New York."
The parade kicks off at the Pfizer parking lot at 1:30 p.m.
