45th Infantry facts
While investigating facts about 45th Infantry, I found out little known, but curios details like:
The 45th Infantry Division of the United States Army used a swastika on a red background as a unit symbol until the 1930s. The division wore the patch while fighting against Germany in World War I.
The 45th Infantry Division of the US used the Swastika as their insignia. It was worn to honor the Native Americans of the American southwest. It was changed to the Thunderbird, another Native American symbol, after the rise of the Nazi Party.
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 10 of the best facts about 45th Infantry I managed to collect.
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Before the 1930s, the US 45th Infantry Division wore a Swastika on their uniform, as a tribute to Native Americans.
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The 45th Infantry Division featured a swastika patch on their shoulder sleeves as a tribute to the large population of Native Americans in the SW United States, this was changed in 1939 due to the Nazi Party adopting this symbol as their own
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US 45th Infantry division, that liberated Dachau concentration camp, had a swastika as the divisional symbol (which was in 1939 replaced with another Native American symbol, the gold thunderbird)
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That from 1923 to 1939, the 45th Infantry Division (NG unit with members from OK, NM, CO and AZ) proudly wore a yellow swastika, an ancient Indian symbol of good luck, on a red background. Due to the rise of the Nazis, it was abandoned and a yellow Thunderbird was selected as the new insignia.
