US Army 101st Airborne Division shoulder sleeve patch with a bald eagle head

Shoulder sleeve insignia of the 101st Airborne Division, United States Army, known as the Screaming Eagles. The shield shaped badge has an Airborne banner and a bald eagle, originally representing a Civil War mascot named Old Abe, the origin of the unit’s nickname. The Airborne parachuted into Normandy, France, on D-Day, June 6, 1944, to clear the way for troops to land on Utah Beach. In September, it was part of the Allied attempt to liberate the Netherlands during Operation Market Garden. The Unit was in southern Germany in late April 1945, where it discovered Kaufering IV, a subcamp of Dachau concentration camp. The 101st Airborne and the 12th Armored Divisions liberated the camp on April 27th and 28th. They found approximately 500 dead prisoners; the other inmates had been transported by SS guards as Allied Forces closed in. The Divisions forced local residents to bury the dead. The Unit was moving toward Berchtesgaden when Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945. The 101st Division was part of the Army of Occupation until their inactivation in Germany on November 30th, 1945.