US Army 20th Armored Division shoulder sleeve patch with tank, gun, and red lightning bolt

Shoulder sleeve insignia, 20th Armored Division, United States Army, sometimes called Armoraiders, of the type used during World War II. The patch design was used by all Armored divisions, with the division number, in this case 20, at the apex of the triangle. The colors represent the military branches that form an armored division: yellow for cavalry, blue for infantry, and red for artillery. The symbols represent the characteristics: the tank track, mobility and armor protection; the cannon, fire power; and the red flash of lightning, shock action. The 20th Division landed in Le Havre, France, on February 16, 1945. They advanced through Belgium into Germany. They were one of the three US Army divisions that liberated Dachau concentration camp on April 29, 1945. They discovered over 30,000 survivors in the camp and 2,310 corpses on a train. On April 30, 1945, they captured Munich. When Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945, the Division was in Austria. The Division was placed on occupation duty until they returned to the US on August 2, 1945, and were inactivated on April 2, 1946. This Division was active only during WWII.