US Army 86th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve patch with a black hawk with spread wings on a red field
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 2.500 inches (6.35 cm) | Width: 2.125 inches (5.398 cm)
Archival History
The badge was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection
Scope and Content
Shoulder sleeve insignia of the 86th Infantry Division, United States Army, known as the Blackhawk Division. The monogrammed red shield displays a black hawk with outstretched wings and talons. The Unit, activated in 1917, adopted this insignia in honor of the Native American warrior Blackhawk. Reactivated in 1942, the Unit entered the war in March 1945. It landed in France and quickly advanced into western Germany. The 86th liberated Attendorn, a civilian forced-labor camp in the Olpe District, on April 11, 1945. The Division had crossed the Danube River, and was advancing toward Salzburg, Austria, when Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945. The 86th Infantry processed German prisoners of war for the Army of Occupation until it was redeployed to the Pacific Theater of Operations in June 1945. It was inactivated in the Philippines on December 30, 1946.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Shield shaped, machine embroidered military patch on white net backing with a straight top edge and curved sides that taper to a bottom point. It has a red field with a red embroidered border. In the center is a black hawk, facing right, with outstretched wings and talons. On the bird’s breast is a shield with a B in the upper left quadrant and an H in the lower right. The badge shows no obvious signs of use.
Corporate Bodies
- United States. Army. Infantry Division, 86th
Subjects
- Armed Forces--Insignia--History--20th century.
- World War, 1939–1945--Insignia--United States.
Genre
- Military Insignia
- Object