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Historically Speaking Division Patches N June 14, We Celebrate the 236Th by BG John S

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Historically Speaking Division Patches N June 14, We Celebrate the 236Th by BG John S Historically Speaking Division Patches n June 14, we celebrate the 236th By BG John S. Brown MG Hooker had envisioned with respect Obirthday of the United States Army, U.S. Army retired to distinctive insignia. American units many of us in the presence of soldiers hastily improvised markings, variously proudly wearing division patches on their shoulders. If on applied to headgear and clothing. The matter came to a head their left sleeve, these represent their current unit; if on their when the 81st Division shipped to France. Consisting largely right, a unit in which they served in combat. More than a few of Carolinians for whom the wildcat was a respected local will be “sandwiches,” bearing the same division patch on predator, the division arrived at port with a patch bearing a both sleeves. For veterans standing tall in their uniforms, wildcat on every soldier’s shoulder. This provoked a series campaign ribbons tell us where they were, personal awards of snits concerning authorized and unauthorized wear until suggest what they did and division patches tell us who they GEN John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expedi- were with. All are points of pride and quicken the pulse of tionary Force, decided that shoulder patches were the solu- those who know how to read them. tion to his unit identification prob- The imperative of identifying an lem. The 81st Division got to keep individual’s unit is at least as an- theirs, and other divisions were di- cient as the regulated symbols Spar- rected to follow suit. Corps and non- tans placed on their shields. Until divisional units came up with their the time of the American Civil War, own shoulder patches as well. unique and colorful battalion and The World War I scramble to field regimental uniforms generally ful- unique and meaningful patches fea- filled this purpose. Units followed tured more than a little serendipity, their flags in Napoleonic array, and expansiveness and whimsy. The senior commanders monitored their Big Red One chosen by the 1st Di- activities from convenient vantage vision was obvious enough, and points. By the middle of the Civil the color hearkened back to the 1st War, the sizes of armies, ranges of Divisions of the Civil War. The weapons, dimensions of battlefields Daniel Elmblad Army/2LT U.S. originals, however, were cut from and an emerging preference for PFC Zachary Polsin (left), Troop C, the red cloth of captured German drabness when under fire encour- 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, field caps, hardly a reliable source aged a change of method. Some- 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st In- of supply. The 2nd Division chose a thing that could be seen by nearby fantry Division, is congratulated by stylized Indian head in a star as a SFC Matthew Sanders after receiving friendlies without drawing undue his 1st Cavalry Division patch at a uniquely American symbol, but attention from more distant enemies ceremony in Baghdad in April. promulgated a bewildering array seemed in order. Union MG Joseph of background shapes and colors to Hooker draws criticism for an initiative or two that worked accommodate subordinate units. The 3rd Division added out less than well, but he was capable overall and did im- parallel white stripes for each of its major operations after pose an appropriate system for battlefield identification on the fact. The 4th Division was clever enough to equate the Army of the Potomac. Each corps received an insignia, symbolic ivy with the Roman numeral IV. The 5th Division often worn on the top of the hat, with a specific geometric took to the logo of a then-popular commercial company; design. Each division within a corps was assigned its own they liked its motto, “Diamond Dye—it never runs.” Na- color for the design. Thus soldiers of the 1st Division of the tional Guard choices offered ample scope for geographic First Corps wore a red disc, those of the 2nd Division a origins: the “YD” of the Yankee (26th) Division, the “NY” white disc and so on. The insignia proved useful to com- of the New York (27th) Division, the Keystone of the Penn- manders and also became a source of esprit de corps among sylvania (28th) Division, the Blue and Gray of the 29th Di- those who wore them. vision drawing from the capital regions of both the Union Civil War divisions and corps disappeared without lin- and the former Confederacy, the “DD” of the Dixie (31st) eage in the downsizing that followed, as did the divisions Division and so on. Divisions with less of a geographic and corps of the much briefer Spanish-American War. Amer- connection could play on that; cases in point included the icans preparing to fight in World War I hastily constructed Rainbow (42nd) and the All American (82nd) Divisions. division and corps overheads atop the regimental structure Each division and major unit came to its own logic and that had fought the Indian Wars. Arriving in France, they had its own story. Results were not always happy. The found the British and French already far down the path United States Army District of Paris, for example, sought June 2011 I ARMY 77 to honor their hosts by having the fleur-de-lis on their other conflicts. Deeds of dedication, courage and sacrifice patch, only to have French citizens recoil from this reviled added to the heritage of patches borne by soldiers. Those symbol of Bourbon monarchial rule. worn on the left sleeve evoked a sense of tradition and a de- The United States fought World War I in the twilight of the sire to measure up. Those worn on the right sleeve evoked Progressive Era, and inveterate reformers could hardly allow memories too expansive and profound for words. Both chaos with respect to unit insignia to continue. President evoked a sense of fellowship unique in its intensity. Woodrow Wilson established the Heraldic Program Office (now the Institute of Heraldry) to sort things out. The Army ot too long ago, the concept of division patches came established a point system for the orderly inactivation, Nup for review. The Army was transforming to accom- “mothballing” and reactivation of units with their flags, modate Information Age technologies and radically altered patches, honors and lineages. Division patches evolved into strategic circumstances. Designs for what had been a divi- embroidered devices of consistent design, preserving much sion morphed into nimble command-and-control headquar- of the World War I legacy as they did so. Talented (at least in ters, division bases were divided up and redistributed, and their own view) amateurs still took a stab at patch design— something that looked like a brigade combat team emerged as did GEN George S. Patton Jr., for example—but central- as the preeminent operational chip on the board. A penchant ized management had tightened its grip. The World War II developed for renaming everything, to emphasize change. mobilization featured an orderly issuance of standardized The Center of Military History, responsible for unit designa- patches that would be familiar to today’s soldier. A notable tions, designed a fistful of alternative approaches. The Chief newcomer was the armored division patch, a triangle inte- of Staff of the Army asked the president of AUSA to assem- grating the heraldic colors of Cavalry, Infantry and Artillery ble a blue ribbon panel of “graybeards” to review the issue. with a number to designate the division. Soldiers trained, de- The panel reviewed the options and came down in favor of ployed, fought and returned sharing a common shoulder leaving division patches on both the transforming modular patch with those who accompanied them. headquarters and on the emerging combat teams that A readily visible instrument of unit identification, the di- should remain labeled as brigades. Sensing sessions with vision patch absorbed and advanced the lore of the divi- soldiers of all ranks came to the same conclusion. Whatever sion. The patch itself often became part of the lore. The 88th the new wiring diagrams looked like, soldiers wanted the Infantry Division, for example, lacked a good nickname. division patches on their shoulders to continue to mean The division commander had peddled “Ranger Division,” something. Critics argued that no change to the patches but it never caught on, particularly among the great many would signal no change to the Army. The graybeards re- draftees and cadre men who were not, by the Table of Orga- torted that you didn’t have to cater to people who weren’t nization and Equipment, riflemen. After a particularly paying attention. Changes in the Army would be visible fierce but successful battle in Italy, German prisoners enough to those who cared to observe them. The 1st Cavalry cursed the tenacity of their assailants, using an expletive Division patch, for example, has been successively worn by that translated as blue devils—keying in on the color of the organizations dominated by horses, amphibious craft, jeeps, division patch. This, the GIs liked. The 88th have been Blue helicopters and tanks. Equipment and organization changed Devils ever since. Similarly, the 24th and 25th Infantry Divi- radically; the patch did not. sions fought throughout the Pacific and converted the im- The young soldiers celebrating the Army birthday this probable, luxuriant taro leaf into a badge of military honor. month have been fighting in a very different Army and in The 10th Mountain Division underscored the uniqueness of different wars from those of us of an older vintage. They its name by spectacularly daring, and successful, attacks in remain faithful to traditions of dedication, courage and the peaks of the Apennines.
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