fighting69th

The "Colonel Donovan" named in the photo's caption is none other than World War I Medal of Honor recipient United States Army Colonel William Joseph Donovan. From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Joseph_Donovan): "During World War I, Donovan organized and led a battalion of the United States Army, designated the 165th Regiment of the 42nd Division, the federalized designation of the famed 69th New York Volunteers, (the 'Fighting 69th'). In France one of his charges was poet Joyce Kilmer. For his service near Landres-et-St. Georges, France, on 14 and 15 October 1918, he received the Medal of Honor. By the end of the war he received a promotion to colonel, the Distinguished Service Cross and two Purple Hearts " Much better known as "Wild Bill" Donovan, he was a law school classmate of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Donovan, although a Republican, was a friend and confidant of Democrat Roosevelt's prior to the Second World War and on the eve of the war was entrusted by FDR to found the Coordinator of Information (COI), which would become the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the World War II predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Donovan would lead the OSS until it was disbanded by President Truman in September 1947. The Victory Arch depicted in the photo was a temporary structure erected in Madison Square Park (note the Flatiron Building looking north though the arch) at the conclusion of World War I to honor New York's war dead. It would later be dismantled.

"New York City's famous Irish regiment, the Sixty-ninth Infantry, under command of Colonel Louis D. Conley, left for the mobilization at Beekman yesterday, and the command got a send-off from the thousands who witnessed its departure which its personnel will be a long time in forgetting. ..." NYT, June 22, 1916, "THOUSANDS CHEER AS 69TH MARCHES" (query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=FB0E17F63A5B17...).

More on the New York National Guard's 69th:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/69th_Infantry_Regiment_(New_York)
This shot was taken on Lexington Ave, between 25th and 26th Streets, in front of the Regiment's armory. Current street view:
maps.google.com/maps?q=lexington+avenue+and+25th+street&a...
and see notes under

Thanks B-59 and Art Siegel, we will update our record with the date and additional information.

This was taken at the railroad station at Camp Black, Hempstead, Long Island, NY.

In June, 1916, the 69th was sent to McAllen, Texas to fight in the Villa Expedition/Border Wars. This is probably taken in their armory on Lexington Ave, between 25th and 26th streets.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/69th_Regiment_Armory
See notes under

Thanks Art, we'll add this information to our record.