17th Airborne Shoulder Patches

[Rob Herrick]

Does anybody know if the 17th Airborne wore their divisional shoulder patch during Operation Varsity?

I can find lots of pictoral references to the stars and stripes on the right arm, but no photos which show the divisional patch on the left shoulder.

As an aside, how widespread was the wearing of divisional shoulder patches in the ETO?

[Etranger]

Divisional patches were meant to be removed on operations for security reasons but there are enough photos to show that that order was widely ignored!


Paratroopers of the 17th Airborne Division riding through Munster, Germany on top of a Churchill tank. March 24,1945.


A group of young POWs, captured by the 17th Airborne Division, outside of Münster, Germany, in April, 1945.

Assuming that theses photos are accurately dated and captioned then these paras aren't wearing one. (Photos from Google Image search).

[Truscott Trotter]

Yeah sorry I looked through most of the piccies on here no insignia
http://www.17thscions.org/17th-airborne-photos

[Rob Herrick]

No, your confirmation and explanation is greatly appreciated.

Not wearing the patch makes my life easier, since it means I don't have to make my own decals for their patch.