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 Gen. George A. Custer
Major Gen. George A. Custer
10 in. x 13 in.
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From Custer to MacArthur:
The 7th U.S. Cavalry (1866-1945)
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LIFEB. - General MacArthur...
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The Mystery of E Troop: Custer's Gray Horse Company at the Little Bighorn
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.
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.




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Infant Camo
One Piece
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Books

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.
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.
More than any of the other combatant forces in the Second World War, the US Army standardized its divisions' organization, training, and doctrine. This allowed unparalleled flexibility of employment and a consistency of battlefield performance rivaled by the tactical forces of no other army. Airborne divisions, on the other hand, were the closest thing the US Army had to specially trained and organized "assault" units, designed specifically for striking behind enemy lines and holding key terrain while isolated and cut off. The 101st Airborne Division thus required and attracted a special kind of soldier, of whom unusual-and deadly-demands were made routinely, in training as well as combat. By chronicling the Division's combat experience through the eyes and in the words of its soldiers themselves, Vanguard of the Crusade provides priceless insights into what made this division so distinctive and the traditions it built so worthy.
U.S. Army Heraldic Crests: A Complete Illustrated History of Authorized Distinctive Unit Insignia
Catalogs over 3,000 distinctive insignia, with full-color illustrations, descriptions, translations of mottos, and other useful information.


Movies

The thrilling and heroic story of the United States Army is vividly recreated in this moving program, Citizen Soldiers , that forms a part of the remarkable series on the U.S. Armed Forces, In Defense of Freedom . Narrated by Ken Howard, this film, crammed with rare, restored footage, photographs and vintage portraits of our early heroes, takes us from the birth of the U.S. Army to Vietnam - and beyond. You'll witness the triumph over the British army in 1776, the successes of the War of 1812 and the periods of adversity during the Civil War and Indian Wars that lasted over a quarter of a century. The courage and record of the United States Army remains unparalleled in the history of military warfare. Teddy Roosevelt's charge up San Juan Hill and the freeing of Cuba, as well as the conquest of the German and Japanese Forces in World War II reveal the true mettle of this legendary fighting force.
VHS
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
DVD
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.
DVD
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.
DVD

The Complete DVD History of U.S. Wars (1700-2004)
War has always been part of the American experience. From the time the first colonists set foot upon North America's shores, they were in conflict with the Native inhabitants. One hundred years later the colonies suddenly found themselves an extension of the conflicts in Europe. Less than a century later, the Revolutionary War freed the fledgling United States from its British overlords and European entanglements. Born and nurtured in war, America grew in strength and power until at the beginning of the 21st century it was the foremost military power in the world.
Best Wishes to the Soldier
Best Wishes to the Soldier Art Print
11 in. x 17 in.
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