US Army 103rd Infantry Division shoulder sleeve patch with a green cactus on a yellow and blue field
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 2.500 inches (6.35 cm) | Width: 2.625 inches (6.668 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 patch of the United States Army 103rd Infantry Division, nicknamed the Cactus Division, based on their circular badge with a Saguaro cactus. The design represents the states, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico, whose troops formed the unit when it was established in August 1921. The 103rd arrived in Marseilles, France on October 20, 1944, and crossed into Germany on December 15th. Advancing to the Landsberg area, the 103rd liberated a subcamp within the Kaufering concentration camp system, on April 27, 1945. The division ordered locals to bury the uncovered corpses. The unit had arrived in Innsbruck, Austria, when Germany surrendered on May 7. The 103rd Infantry assumed Amy of Occupation duties until September 10, 1945, when they returned to the US, and were inactivated on September 22, 1945.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Circular military patch machine embroidered on white netting with a green, three branched saguaro cactus in the center. The top three quarters of the field is yellow and the bottom quarter is blue; the border is light green. The border is slightly frayed. The patch does not appear to have been used.
Corporate Bodies
- United States. Army. Infantry Division, 103rd
Subjects
- Armed Forces--Insignia--History--20th century.
- World War, 1939-1945--Insignia--United States.
Genre
- Object
- Military Insignia