United States Army 1st Cavalry

History of "The Patch"

The patch of the 1st Cavalry Division has a history as colorful as its design, reflecting the proud heritage of the United States Cavalry in a timeless manner.

The insignia selected for the First team patch was designed by Colonel and Mrs. Ben Dorsey. The colonel was then commander of the 7th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss, Texas. Mrs. Dorsey related that the combination of the golden sunset at Fort Bliss and the traditional colors of the Cavalry; blue and yellow, were a great influence on the background color and the insignia. The choice of the horse's head for the insignia was made by the family after they observed a mounted trooper ride by their home on a beautiful blue-black thoroughbred. Later, to improve visibility, the color scheme was modified replacing the blue for black, the symbolic color of iron and armor.

On a "sunset" yellow triangular Norman Shield with rounded corners 5 1/4 inches in height, a black diagonal stripe extends over the shield from upper left to the lower right. In the upper right, a black horse's head cut off diagonally at the neck, appears within 1/8 inches of an Army Green border. The traditional Cavalry color of yellow and the horse's head is symbolic of the original organizational structure of the Cavalry. The color black is symbolic of iron, alluding to the organizational transition from mounted horses to tanks and heavy armor. The black stripe, in heraldry termed a "Sable Bend", represents a "baldric" (a standard Army issue belt worn over the right shoulder to the opposite hip - sometimes referred to as a "Sam Browne belt") which retains either a scabbard which sheaths the trooper's saber or revolver holster.

During the Vietnam engagements, the yellow background of the patch for Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) was changed to a subdued Olive Drab (OD) green in order to minimize targeting of personnel. The yellow/black patch is retained for Class "A" uniform dress. Otherwise the patch has not changed from the original design and shape.






Major General George A. Custer
Photo Print - Poster

1st Cav in Vietnam

General Douglas MacArthur
Poster



The Mystery of E Troop: Custer's Gray Horse Company at the Little Bighorn
The controversy is about whether the bodies were found in Deep Ravine or in what is known as Cemetery Ravine, and it involves how accurately the white stone markers are placed throughout the battlefield, especially in the area of these two Ravines. The beauty of the book is that although Michno is focusing on the whereabouts and demise of a certain group of soldiers, (E Troop), the first hand accounts and research give the reader a unique insight into the whole battle from start to finish
DVD

American Experience: MacArthur
General Douglas MacArthur is considered by many to be the greatest American military hero in history. In The American Experience: MacArthur we get the chance to look in depth at this complex man. At times paranoid and poetic, inspirational and petty, his belief in his own destiny was so strong that he seemed to expect his victories as his due. The filmmakers present his story with newsreel and military footage, as well as with thoughtful interviews with historians, aides, journalists, and soldiers under his command. From West Point through two World Wars, his presiding over the reconstruction of Japan, and his firing at the hands of Harry Truman over the war in Korea, MacArthur weaves an epic tale of his larger-than-life feats and his return again and again to the center of global action. Revered on both sides of the Pacific, General MacArthur left a legacy that must not be forgotten. 		DVD

Vietnam A Television History
This remarkable and essential seven-volume series--six years in the making and originally broadcast on public television in 1983--tells the agonizing history of Vietnam's lengthy conflicts with some of the largest powers on Earth. While the primary focus is on the United States' miserable efforts to prop up a porous, anti-Communist government in South Vietnam as a bulwark against Chinese and Soviet expansionism, the series' makers expend no less energy detailing important antecedents to America's intervention. Of vital interest are the first two hours, which tell the compelling story of France's 80-year colonial rule in Southeast Asia and the rise of a European-educated generation of Vietnamese intellectuals turned warriors, chief among them the architect of Vietnam's prolonged revolt against the West, Ho Chi Minh. By the time a viewer comes to understand how and why America shrugged off Vietnamese independence after World War II, it is easier to grasp the tragic context for the disastrous military campaign of the 1960s and '70s.


1st Cavalry Patches




1st Cav Ballcap
Army Veteran Cap
Desert Camouflage
Army Officer Ballcap

!st Cavalry Wear
Army Training T-Shirt		 Abrams Tank Remote Control
Remote Controlled US M1A2 Abrams Tank Remote Control Tank
Army Mom Wear


Books
American Soldier
By General Tommy Franks
As Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command from July 2000 through July 2003, Tommy Franks led the American and Coalition forces to victory in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Unsurprisingly, the portions of American Soldier covering these wars are the most interesting because they combine military maneuvers, political wrangling, and lots of action and commentary. This does not mean, however, that the rest of his autobiography is dull. General Franks's writing is clear and engaging and his insider's perspective is informative and interesting, particularly when he explains how the military moved into the 21st century by emphasizing speed, agility, and better cooperation among the various branches--a significant shift from the first Persian Gulf war just a decade earlier. 		The Regulars : The American Army, 1898-1941
In 1898 the American Regular Army was a small frontier constabulary engaged in skirmishes with Indians and protesting workers. Forty-three years later, in 1941, it was a large modern army ready to wage global war against the Germans and the Japanese. In this definitive social history of America's standing army, military historian Edward Coffman tells how that critical transformation was accomplished. 		Rolling Thunder against the Rising Sun: The Combat History of U.S. Army Tank Battalions in the Pacific in WWII
The exploits of American tanks on the jungle islands where troops engaged in savage combat and encountered unforgiving weather and terrain. Stationed in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked the islands in 1941, the U.S. Army s independent tank battalions fought from the very start of the war. From New Guinea and the Solomons to the Ryukyus, American armor proved instrumental in winning World War II in the Pacific. 		A Shepherd in Combat Boots: Chaplain Emil Kapaun of the 1st Cavalry Division
Born in Kansas, he grew up on a farm, and became a diocesan priest. He served as a chaplain in WWII and in Korea. In Korea he was taken as a prisoner of war and died from lack of medical treatment. Parts of this book are difficult to read because of the inhumane way the communist treated POW's, but for all the good men who endured this treatment, we need to read the story.


Movies

The Big Picture - The First Cavalry Division and the 41st Infantry Division
In this unit a tribute is paid to two fighting infantry divisions - THE 1ST CAVALRY DIVISION AND THE 41ST INFANTRY DIVISION. It shows the "Cavalry" in action in the jungles of the southwest Pacific, its landing on Leyte and its entrance into Tokyo. The activities of the 41st Infantry Division during the war was graphically told. Colonel Quinn takes the infantryman's weapons apart; verbally.
The World at War
The Second World War was different from other wars in thousands of ways, one of which was the unparalleled scope of visual documents kept by the Axis and Allies of all their activities. As a result, this war is understood as much through written histories as it is through its powerful images. The Nazis were particularly thorough in documenting even the most abhorrent of the atrocities they were committing--in a surprising amount of color footage. The World at War was one of the first television documentaries that exploited these resources so completely, giving viewers an unbelievable visual guide to the greatest event in the 20th century. This is to say nothing of the excellent, comprehensible narrative

World War II - The Lost Color Archives
In the 1980s determined researchers began scouring the world for color film shot during World War II, and the result of their quest is spectacular. Seeing the war through the ubiquitous black-and-white footage has always made the experience somewhat distant, but in clear, crisp color, the enormity of the war and its horrors is startling and dramatic. Films of Nazi rallies are all the more disturbing; a viewer seeing the scene in color realizes the massive crowds saluting Hitler are no longer gray and faceless masses, but gatherings of well- dressed civilians. Color combat footage, from across Europe and the Pacific, is frighteningly immediate, and some of it, showing the wounded, the dead, and even prisoners being executed, will no doubt be disturbing for many viewers. Violence and destruction on an unimaginable scale is vividly put on display, as are smaller moments of soldiers smiling for the camera or liberated prisoners from the concentration camps staring in pained bewilderment. The episodes, produced by the History Channel, are introduced by veteran journalist Roger Mudd, and the narration for each individual segment typically contains excerpts from letters and diaries describing events close to those depicted in the film footage. The footage used is of a surprisingly high quality (much of it was shot and stored away, virtually unseen for decades), and it provides a stunning look at how the war appeared to those fighting it.

National Geographic: Inside Special Forces
Go inside the world's most elite, top secret strike force. Their mission is unique, targeted, dangerous...and only National Geographic will go deep into the secret world of US Special Operations. Follow Special Forces into battle and on secret missions in Afghanistan and Iraq as they face situations where honed skill, finely tuned instincts and split-second decision making are the difference between success and failure...between life and death.

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