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Many Army divisions have over the years earned nicknames; some laudatory, some derogatory, but all colourful. Sometimes, the nicknames themselves have overshadowed the actual name of the division, e.g. the "Screaming Eagles" for the 101st Airborne Division.

Special Designation

An official Special Designation is a "nickname granted to a military organization" which has been authorized by the Center of Military History and recognized through a certificate signed by the Secretary of the Army.[1]

A division's nickname may derive from numerous sources:

• it may be inspired by the division's badge or insignia, such as the 1st Infantry Division's "Big Red One". On the other hand, some division's badges are actually suggested by the nickname, such as the "CY" patch of the "Cyclone Division" (38th Infantry Division);
• it may derive from the place where the division was raised or trained (36th Infantry Division, "Texas"), or the places of origin of the division's soldiers (29th Infantry Division, "Blue and Gray", for northern and southern states);
• it may be bestowed by the enemy in battle, such as the moniker "Red Devils", a nickname for the 5th Infantry Division "granted" by the Germans at the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, World War I;
• it may be the pairing of an adjective (such as "Fighting") paired with the division's ordinal, such as "The Fighting First" for the 1st Infantry Division; or
• it may defy accurate explanation (albeit not without numerous theories), such as the 9th Infantry Division, or "Old Reliables".

Active divisions are listed in boldface; no distinction has been made between regular Army divisions and those of the Army Reserve or National Guard. The origin of the nickname is noted where possible. In some cases, the nickname was officially adopted by the division in question; this is indicated along with date of adoption (where known). Official status might also be inferred by the presence of the nickname on official distinctive unit insignia or in official military source materials.

Airborne divisions

• 11th Airborne Division – "The Angels"; possibly after their shoulder patch, a white-bordered red circle with a white numeral "11", with white wings rising obliquely from the circle, all on a royal blue field
• 82nd Airborne Division – "All-Americans"; original members of the division in 1917 came from every state in the Union [2]
• 101st Airborne Division – "The Screaming Eagles"; after their shoulder insignia, an American eagle's head on a black shield

Armored divisions

• 1st Armored Division – "Old Ironsides" (official, 1941); thought up by its first commander, Major General Bruce R. Magruder, after he saw a picture of the USS Constitution, which bears the same nickname[3]
• 2nd Armored Division – "Hell on Wheels"; Brigadier General George S. Patton, while witnessing it on maneuvers in 1941, reportedly said the Division would be "Hell on Wheels" when it met the enemy
• 3rd Armored Division – "Spearhead"; in recognition of the division's role as the "spearhead" of many attacks during the liberation of France in 1944
• 4th Armored Division
  • "Breakthrough" – According to the Center for Military History, the 4th was "sometimes called the 'Breakthrough Division,' but the division never officially pursued the designation, preferring to be 'known by its deeds alone.'"[4]
  • "Name Enough"
  • "Rolling Fourth"
• 5th Armored Division – "Victory"; probably from the Roman numeral 5, which is a "V" (for "victory"). [5]
• 6th Armored Division – "Super Sixth"
• 7th Armored Division – "Lucky Seventh"
• 8th Armored Division
  • "Thundering Herd"[6]
  • "Iron Deuce"
  • "Iron Snake"[7]
  • "Show Horse"[8]
  • "Tornado"[9]
• 9th Armored Division –
  • "Phantom"[10]; so dubbed by the German army at the Battle of the Bulge [11] because, according to the United States Holocaust Museum, the division "seemed, like a phantom, to be everywhere along the front." [12]
  • "Remagen"; because the division captured intact the Ludendorf Bridge at Remagen, Germany; the first bridge across the Rhine River captured by the Allies.
• 10th Armored Division – "Tiger Division"; so named by Major General Paul Newgarden, the division's first commander, because a tiger has soldierly qualities, including being clean and neat and the ability to maneuever and surprise his prey.
• 11th Armored Division – "Thunderbolt"[13]
• 12th Armored Division – "Hellcat"[14]
• 13th Armored Division – "Black Cat"[15]
• 14th Armored Division – "Liberators"; earned during the last days of World War II when it liberated some 200,000 Allied prisoners of war from German prison camps
• 20th Armored Division – "Armoraiders"; not official, but the division did associate itself with this nickname while in training at Camp Campbell during World War II
• 27th Armored Division – "Empire"; referring to the fact that it was a New York National Guard unit, after the state's nickname.
• 30th Armored Division – "Volunteers"; referring to the fact that it was a Tennessee National Guard unit, after the state's nickname.
• 40th Armored Division – "Grizzly"; referring to the fact that it was a California National Guard unit, after the state's nickname.
• 48th Armored Division – "Hurricane"
• 49th Armored Division – "Lone Star"; referring to its status as a Texas National Guard formation, after the state's nickname
• 50th Armored Division – "Jersey Blues"; referring to the fact that it was a New Jersey National Guard unit.

Cavalry divisions

• 1st Cavalry Division — "The First Team"

Infantry divisions

"The Big Red One" of the 1st Infantry Division.

• 1st Infantry Division
  • "The Big Red One" – from the division's official shoulder patch: Red Arabic numeral "1" on solid olive drab background.
  • "The Fighting First"
• 2nd Infantry Division
  • "Warrior Division" – official nickname
  • "Indian Head" – Official as of 1948. From the shoulder patch: an Indian head on a white star superimposed on black shield.
• 3rd Infantry Division
  • "Rock of the Marne" and "Marne Men" – earned for the Battle of the Marne during World War I, when the division held its position and repulsed two German divisions[16]
  • "Blue and White Devils" (German: "blau-weiße Teufel") – during the Battle of Anzio during World War II, the Division was called this nickname by their German opponents, based on their shoulder patch (a square containing three diagonal white stripes on a dark blue field).
• 4th Infantry Division
  • "Ivy" – play on the Roman numeral "IV" ("4"). Also, ivy leaves are symbolic of tenacity and fidelity, the basis of the Division's motto, "Steadfast and Loyal"[17]
  • "Iron Horse" – official nickname, has been recently adopted to indicate the speed and power of the division
  • "Famous Fighting Fourth"
• 5th Infantry Division
  • "Red Diamonds" – a plain red diamond or lozenge shape
  • "Red Devils" – during the Battle of Saint-Mihiel in World War I, the Germans referred to the division as "Die roten Teufel" (German, "The Red Devils")
• 6th Infantry Division
  • "Red Star" – a six-pointed red star
  • "The Sightseeing Sixth"
• 7th Infantry Division
  • "Bayonet Division" – this nickname "became synonymous with the division through its participation in the Korean War and symbolizes the fighting spirit of the men of the 7th Infantry division."[18]
  • "Hourglass" – Shoulder patch: Red circular patch bearing black hour glass which is formed by an inverted "7" and a superimposed "7".
• 8th Infantry Division
  • "Golden Arrow" – Official as of 1948. Shoulder patch: An upward pointing gold arrow piercing a silver figure "8" on a blue shield.
  • "Pathfinder Division" – Official; original nickname (supplanted by "Golden Arrow" and later reinstated), so named in honor of John C. Fremont, an explorer of California, where the Division was formed
• 9th Infantry Division
  • "Old Reliables" – origin unknown, but some possibilities recorded here
• 10th Mountain Division
  • "Mountaineer";
• 12th Infantry Division
  • "Philippine";
• 23rd Infantry Division
  • "Americal";
• 24th Infantry Division
  • "Victory";
• 25th Infantry Division
  • "Tropic Lightning" – Official (adopted August 3, 1953). In 1941 the division was ordered to deploy to Guadalcanal to relieve U.S. Marines there; only 31 days were required to accomplish the mission and earned the Division its official designation. The Division patch is a taro leaf (indicating Hawaii, where the Division was formed), and a lightning bolt, "representative of the manner in which the Division performs its allotted assignments."[19]
  • "Electric Strawberry" - so called because the shoulder patch taro leaf resembles a strawberry with a lightning bolt on it.
• 26th Infantry Division
  • "Yankee";
• 27th Infantry Division
  • "New York";
• 28th Infantry Division
  • "Keystone" – The badge is a red keystone; the Division was formed in Pennsylvania, the "Keystone State"
  • "Bloody Buckets"
• 29th Infantry Division
  • "Blue and Gray" – In 1919, when shoulder sleeve insignia were first authorized, the division comprised of two masses of men, one from the North (represented by blue) and the other from the South (represented by gray).[20]
• 30th Infantry Division
  • "Old Hickory";
• 31st Infantry Division
  • "Dixie";
• 32nd Infantry Division
  • "Red Arrow"; - "Red Arrow, shot through a line denoting that it pierced every battle line it ever faced"
• 33rd Infantry Division
  • "Illinois";
• 34th Infantry Division
  • "Red Bull" – The badge is a red bull's skull on a black background.
  • "Sandstorm" – the Division was formed at Camp Cody, in a desertlike area of New Mexico
• 35th Infantry Division
  • "Santa Fe" – The badge is a blue background with a white "Santa Fe cross", a device used to mark the old Santa Fe Trail, an area where the Division trained
• 36th Infantry Division
  • "Texas" – The Division is based in Texas.
  • "Lone Star" – Texas is the "Lone Star State".
• 37th Infantry Division
  • "Buckeye";
• 38th Infantry Division
  • "Cyclone" – official.
  • "The Avengers of Bataan"
• 40th Infantry Division
  • "Sunburst" – the badge is a gold sunburst on a blue background
• 41st Infantry Division
  • "Jungleers - due to combat in the Pacific during WW II"
  • "Sunset - Unit patch has a half sun represents the setting sun on the Pacific. Often humorously referred to as the "Day's Inn Patch"
• 42nd Infantry Division
  • "Rainbow"
• 43rd Infantry Division
  • "Winged Victory";
• 45th Infantry Division
  • "Thunderbird";
• 63rd Infantry Division
  • "Blood and fire";
• 65th Infantry Division
  • "Battle Axe";
• 66th Infantry Division
  • "Black Panther";
• 69th Infantry Division
  • "Fighting 69th
• 70th Infantry Division
  • "Trailblazer";
• 71st Infantry Division
  • "Red Circle";
• 76th Infantry Division
  • "Onaway";
• 77th Infantry Division
  • "Statue of Liberty";
• 78th Infantry Division
  • "Lightning";
• 79th Infantry Division
  • "Cross of Lorraine";
• 80th Infantry Division
  • "Blue Ridge";
• 81st Infantry Division
  • "Wildcat";
• 83rd Infantry Division
  • "Thunderbolt"
  • "Ohio" –
  • "Ragtag Circus" – Ostensibly because of the vehicles the Division commandeered from French and German sources, including a cement mixer and fire truck, to transport troops into Germany during World War II. [21]
• 84th Infantry Division
  • "Railsplitters";
• 85th Infantry Division
  • "Custer";
• 86th Infantry Division
  • "Blackhawk";
• 87th Infantry Division
  • "Golden Acorn";
• 88th Infantry Division
  • "Blue Devils";
  • "Cloverleaf";
  • "The Puckering Butthole" - Due to the shape of the patch, a pair of crossed numeral 8's;
  • "8 Across and 8 Up!" - A play on military slang, insinuating that the quality of the division is low;
• 89th Infantry Division
  • "Rolling 'W'"
  • "Middle West";
• 90th Infantry Division
  • "Tough 'Ombres";
• 91st Infantry Division
  • "Powder River";
• 92nd Infantry Division
  • "Buffalo" – a racially segregated African-American formation, named for the Buffalo Soldiers
• 94th Infantry Division
  • "Neuf Cats" – a play on the Division's ordinal numerals ("94") redered into French ("neuf-quatre")
• 95th Infantry Division
  • "Iron Men of Metz" -from the siege of the town of Metz in eastern France during World War II.
  • "Victory"
  • "OK";
• 96th Infantry Division
  • "Deadeye";
• 97th Infantry Division
  • "Trident";
• 98th Infantry Division
  • "Iroquois";
• 99th Infantry Division
  • "Checkerboard";
• 100th Infantry Division
  • "Century";
• 102nd Infantry Division
  • "Ozark";
• 103rd Infantry Division
  • "Cactus";
• 104th Infantry Division
  • "Timberwolf";
• 106th Infantry Division
  • "Golden Lion

References

• The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950 [22]
• The Institute of Heraldry, Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army [23]

External links

• Special Designations - The Center for Military History

See also

• List of nicknames of British Army regiments
• List of warships by nickname
• Regimental nicknames of the Canadian Forces

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