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List of nicknames of United States Army divisions

Many Army divisions have over the years earned nicknames. Sometimes, the nicknames themselves have overshadowed the actual name of the division, such as 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.

A division's nickname may derive from numerous sources:

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 Ã¢Â€Â“ "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
  • 13th Airborne Division Ã¢Â€Â“ "Golden Unicorns"; taken from their shoulder patch, a winged unicorn in orange on an ultramarine blue, the branch of service colours of the United States Army Air Corps, was approved on 2 June 1943. A gold on black "Airborne" tab was worn above the insignia.
  • 17th Airborne Division Ã¢Â€Â“ "Golden Talon"; taken from their shoulder patch.
  • 173rd Airborne Brigade Ã¢Â€Â“ "Sky Soldiers"; "The Herd". They received their official nickname (Tien Bing translates to Sky Soldiers) from the Taiwanese locals during exercises when they were parachuting in Taiwan. The 173rd was part of the only major conventional airborne operation (Operation Junction City) during the Vietnam War. The unit's shoulder patch was referred to as the "Flying Butter Knives."
  • 82nd Airborne Division Ã¢Â€Â“ "America's Guard of Honor", "All-Americans"; original members of the division in 1917 came from every state in the Union. In addition, the 82nd Airborne has been called "Alcoholics Anonymous" or "Almost Airborne" in reference to the "AA" on its shoulder patch by members of other divisions.
  • 101st Airborne Division Ã¢Â€Â“ "The Screaming Eagles"; after their shoulder insignia, a bald eagle's head on a black shield. During the Vietnam War, the nicknames "Puking Buzzards" and "One 'o Worst", a comment on their mode of transportation and a play on the official divisional name, were used. Both were used derogatorily by other soldiers, and were not used by the division itself. In addition, the Vietnamese called them the "Chicken Men" since they had never seen a bald eagle. Several regiments within the 101st were nicknamed "The Battered Bastards of Bastogne", due to their part in holding the important crossroads town during the Battle of the Bulge.

Armored divisions

Cavalry divisions

  • 1st Cavalry Division Ã¢Â€Â“ "The First Team" "Hell for Leather" (see: https://archive.org/details/gov.dod.dimoc.20366), "The Black Horse"

Infantry divisions

See also

References

Sources