Nicknames of United States Army Divisions - Infantry Divisions

Infantry Divisions

• 1st Infantry Division
  • "The Big Red One" – from the division's official shoulder patch: Red Arabic numeral "1" on solid olive drab background. Aka, "The Big Dead One."
  • "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
  • "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"
  • "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 Badge" – a six-pointed red star
  • "Sightseeing"
• 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".
• 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
• 9th Infantry Division
  • "Old Reliables" – origin unknown, but some possibilities recorded here
  • "Psychadelic Cookie" - Used during the Vietnam War in reference to its shoulder patch.
• 10th Mountain Division — "Mountaineer";
• 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 out of American troops on the island of New Caledonia, hence the origin of the name
• 24th Infantry Division
  • "Taro Leaf";
• 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."
  • "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"; 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 Buckets"
• 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"; This is today's 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team.
• 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" This is today's 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
• 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
  • "Texas" – The Division is based in Texas.
  • "Lone Star" – Texas is the "Lone Star State".
• 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
  • "Sunburst" – the badge is a gold sunburst on a blue background
  • "Ball of Fire" - Nickname adopted during its deployment to Korea.
• 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" This is today's 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
• 42nd Infantry Division — "Rainbow"
• 43rd Infantry Division — "Redwing";
• 45th Infantry Division — "Thunderbird" - official nickname; This is today's 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
• 47th Infantry Division — "Viking" - a unit of the Minnesota National Guard
• 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 — "Fighting 69th
• 70th Infantry Division — "Trailblazer";
• 71st Infantry Division — "Red Circle";
• 76th Infantry Division — "Onaway";
• 77th Infantry Division — "Metropolitam";
• 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 cement mixer and fire truck, to transport troops into Germany during World War II.
• 84th Infantry Division — "Railsplitters"; This is today's 80th 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 — "Tough 'Ombres";
• 91st Infantry Division — "Powder River";
• 92nd Infantry Division
  • "Buffalo" – a racially segregated African-American formation, named for the Buffalo Soldiers
• 93rd Infantry Division
  • "Red Hand"; "Adrians"; "Blue Helmets"
• 94th Infantry Division
  • "Neuf Cats" – a play on the Division's ordinal numerals ("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"; 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
• 1st Ranger Battalion - 'Hunter'