The American Soldiers Who Wore Swastikas

Apparently before the Nazis ruined the swastika as a symbol for the forseeable future, the US 45th Infantry Division wore an insignia consisting of a yellow swastika on a red background.

The division’s original shoulder sleeve insignia, approved in August 1924, featured a swastika, a common Native American symbol, as a tribute to the Southwestern United States region which had a large population of Native Americans. However, with the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany, with its infamous swastika symbol, the 45th Division stopped using the insignia. Following a long process of submissions for new designs, a new shoulder sleeve insignia, designed by a Carnegie, Oklahoma native named Woody Big Bow, featuring the Thunderbird, another Native American symbol, was approved in 1939.

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