•
1st Infantry Division • "The Big Red One" – from the division's official
shoulder patch: Red numeral "1" on an olive drab shield. • "The Fighting First" • "The Big Dead One" •
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. • "Blue and White Devils" () – 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). • "Broken Television" – from their
shoulder patch resembling a
television with
static on screen. • "Dog Faced Soldiers" – from the 3rd ID Song. •
4th Infantry Division • The division's patch is four ivy leaves pointing up, down, and to the sides • "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". • From the Vietnam Era "Funky Fourth". "Poison Ivy". • "Iron Horse" – official nickname, has been recently adopted to indicate the
speed and
power of the division • "Famous Fighting Fourth" • "Lost Lieutenants" or "4 Lieutenants Pointing North" – a play on the division shoulder sleeve insignia and the stereotype of 2nd Lieutenants being inexperienced and unskilled. •
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 • The division's patch is a red six-pointed star • "Sightseeing Sixth" • ”Death Star” • ”Commie Jew Division” (as described by General
William Westmoreland when it was proposed the 6th Division would be sent to Vietnam) • ”Jumping Jews” (when worn with an Airborne tab,
1/501 PIR in the 1990s) •
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." • "H-Hour" –
Shoulder patch: Red circular
patch bearing black hour glass which is formed by an inverted "7" and a superimposed "7". • ”The Crushed Beer Can” •
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, the
namesake of
Camp Fremont, which is where the division was formed. • ”The Eight-Up Division” (play on words and the design of the patch alluding to the Army term “ate up” which means incompetent) •
9th Infantry Division • "Varsity" • "Old Reliables" – origin unknown, but some possibilities recorded here **"
Psychedelic Cookie" – Used during the
Vietnam War in reference to its
shoulder patch. •
10th Mountain Division • "Mountaineer" • ”Fighting Beer Keg” •
12th Infantry Division • "Carabao" •
23rd Infantry Division • "Americal" – At one point in time this was the official Divisional designation, when it was redesignated as the 23rd Infantry Division, Americal became the divisional nickname. Originally formed in
World War II out of separate
American National Guard units on the
island of New Caledonia, hence the origin of the name. •
24th Infantry Division • "Pineapple Division"**"
Taro Leaf"; "Victory". •
25th Infantry Division • "Tropic Lightning" – Official (adopted August 3, 1953). In 1942 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."[http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Inf/25th%20Infantry%20Division.htm • "Electric Strawberry" – so called because the
shoulder patch taro leaf resembles a
strawberry with a lightning bolt on it. •
26th Infantry Division – "Yankee"; This is today's
26th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. •
27th Infantry Division – "Empire," a legacy of the
27th Armored Division. • "O'Ryan's Roughnecks," a reference to the first division commander,
John F. O'Ryan. • "New York Division." – Many members were part of the
New York National Guard. • The abbreviation N.Y.D. can be seen in the division
shoulder sleeve insignia. “Orion Division”, as the insignia also contains an "O" for O'Ryan, as well as a depiction of the
Orion constellation as a pun on O'Ryan's name. This is today's
27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. •
28th Infantry Division • "Keystone" – The badge is a red
keystone; the division was formed in
Pennsylvania, the "
Keystone State" • "Bloody Bucket" – So called by
German soldiers World War II because the
keystone shaped
patch was red and resembled a
bucket, in German, Der Blutige Eimer. • "Iron Division" – From a comment by
John J. Pershing following the 1918
Battle of Château-Thierry •
29th Infantry Division • "Blue and Gray" – In 1919, when
shoulder sleeve insignia were first authorized, the division consisted of two masses of men, one from the
North (represented by
blue) and the other from the
South (represented by
gray).*
30th Infantry Division – "Old Hickory"; a nickname given by the Germans-"Roosevelt's SS" This is today's
30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team. •
31st Infantry Division – "Dixie"; •
32nd Infantry Division • "Red Arrow"; "shot through a line denoting that it pierced every
battle line it ever faced"; This is today's
32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. • "Les Terribles" – ("The Terrible Ones" intended as a complement, given by French General
Charles Mangin after their decisive action against the Germans at the WW1
Second Battle of the Marne •
33rd Infantry Division • "Illinois"; • "Prairie"; sometimes official nickname • "Golden Cross" – take from the design of the
insignia, used as the title of the
World War II history. This is today's
33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. •
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 • "Desert Bull" – sometimes used during modern deployments •
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 • "Arrowhead" – Official depicting insignia. • "Texas" – The division is based in
Texas. • "Lone Star" – Texas is the "
Lone Star State". • "T-Patch" •
37th Infantry Division • "Buckeye"; This is today's
37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. •
38th Infantry Division • "Cyclone" – official. Named after a
tornado hit
the camp where the division was training prior to
deployment during
World War I. • "The Avengers of
Bataan" This is today's
38th Sustainment Brigade. •
40th Infantry Division • "Sunshine" – the
badge is a gold
sunburst on a blue
background. • "Ball of Fire" – Nickname adopted during its deployment to
Korea. • "Flaming Assholes" – The unofficial nickname came from the
Korean War era when the unit was training in Japan. It was a combined result of disparaging remarks made by
Army regulars about the
National Guard division and the appearance of the unit
shoulder sleeve insignia. The
California Guardsmen took to their new nickname with a soldier's
sense of humor, and turned it into a rallying symbol (sometimes used for the 9th Infantry Division, due to the appearance of that division's
shoulder sleeve insignia). •
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 "
Days Inn Patch" or "Thirteen
Lieutenants Pointing
North", this is today's
41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team. •
42nd Infantry Division – "Rainbow" •
43rd Infantry Division • "Red Wing" • "Winged Victory" • Named for World War II commander
Leonard F. "Red" Wing •
45th Infantry Division – "Thunderbird" – official nickname; This is today's
45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. •
46th Infantry Division (United States)-"Ironfist" •
49th Infantry Division (United States)-"49'ers", "Argonauts" •
47th Infantry Division – "Viking" – a unit of the
Minnesota Army National Guard. •
51st Infantry Division (United States)-"Rattlesnake" •
63rd Infantry Division – "Blood and fire"; This is today's
63rd Regional Support Command. •
65th Infantry Division – "Battle Axe"; •
66th Infantry Division – "Black Panther"; •
69th Infantry Division • "Fightin' 69th" – official nickname; earned after breaking through the Siegfried Line in 1945. • "Three B's" – nickname adopted during training. Humorous reference to the division's dislike of frequent bivouacking ordered by their original Commander, Charles L. Bolte. •
70th Infantry Division – "Trailblazer"; •
71st Infantry Division – "Red Circle"; •
76th Infantry Division – "Onaway"; •
77th Infantry Division – "Metropolitan" or "Liberty"; This is today's
77th Sustainment Brigade. •
78th Infantry Division – "Lightning"; •
79th Infantry Division – "Cross of Lorraine"; •
80th Infantry Division – "Blue Ridge"; This is today's
80th Training Command. •
81st Infantry Division – "Wildcat"; This is today's
81st Regional Support Command. •
83rd Infantry Division • "Ohio" – • "Ragtag Circus" – Ostensibly because of the vehicles the division
commandeered from French and German sources, including a
concrete mixer and
fire truck, to
transport troops into
Germany during
World War II. [http://www.whsc.emory.edu/_pubs/em/medicine/class_notes.html •
84th Infantry Division – "Railsplitters"; This is today's
84th Training Command. •
85th Infantry Division – "Custer"; This is today's
85th Support Command. •
86th Infantry Division – "Blackhawk"; •
87th Infantry Division – "Golden Acorn"; This is today's
87th Support Command. •
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; This is today's
88th Regional Support Command. •
89th Infantry Division • "Rolling 'W'" • "Middle West"; •
90th Infantry Division – The T & O Division– Due to the members of the WWI division being from the
Texas-Oklahoma area, close to
Mexico, "Tough 'Ombres" taken from the T O of the division shoulder patch, Ombres being a contraction for the Spanish Hombres, "Men, Tough Men." •
91st Infantry Division – "Powder River"; •
92nd Infantry Division • "Buffalo" – a
racially segregated African-American formation, named for the famed
Buffalo Soldiers of the late 1800s. •
93rd Infantry Division • "Red Hand"; "Adrians"; "Blue Helmets" •
94th Infantry Division • "Neuf Cats" – a play on the division's
ordinal numbers ("94") rendered 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"; “Battle Babies” This is today's
99th Regional Support Command. •
100th Infantry Division – "Century"; •
102nd Infantry Division – "Ozark"; •
103rd Infantry Division – "Cactus"; •
104th Infantry Division – "Timberwolf"; •
106th Infantry Division – "Golden Lion" ==See also==