A division's nickname may derive from numerous sources:
it may be inspired by the division's badge or insignia, such as the 1st Infantry Division's "Big Red One". On the other hand, some division's badges are actually suggested by the nickname, such as the "CY" patch of the "Cyclone Division" (38th Infantry Division);
it may be the pairing of an adjective (such as "Fighting") paired with the division's ordinal, such as "The Fighting First" for the 1st Infantry Division; or
it may defy accurate explanation (albeit not without numerous theories), such as the 9th Infantry Division, or "Old Reliables".
Active divisions are listed in boldface; no distinction has been made between regular Army divisions and those of the Army Reserve or National Guard. The origin of the nickname is noted where possible. In some cases, the nickname was officially adopted by the division in question; this is indicated along with date of adoption (where known). Official status might also be inferred by the presence of the nickname on official distinctive unit insignia or in official military source materials.
Airborne divisions
11th Airborne Division – "The Angels"; possibly after their shoulder patch, a white-bordered red circle with a white numeral "11", with white wings rising obliquely from the circle, all on a royal blue field
13th Airborne Division – "Golden Unicorns"; taken from their shoulder patch, a winged unicorn in orange on an ultramarine blue, the branch of service colours of the United States Army Air Corps, was approved on 2 June 1943. A gold on black "Airborne" tab was worn above the insignia.
82nd Airborne Division – "America's Guard of Honor", "All-Americans"; original members of the division in 1917 came from every state in the Union.[2] In addition, the 82nd Airborne has been called "Alcoholics Anonymous" or "Almost Airborne" in reference to the "AA" on its shoulder patch by members of other divisions.
101st Airborne Division – "The Screaming Eagles"; after their shoulder insignia, a bald eagle's head on a black shield. During the Vietnam War, the nicknames "Puking Buzzards" and "One 'o Worst", a comment on their mode of transportation and a play on the official divisional name, were used. Both were used derogatorily by other soldiers, and were not used by the division itself. In addition, the Vietnamese called them the "Chicken Men" since they had never seen a bald eagle. Several regiments within the 101st were nicknamed "The Battered Bastards of Bastogne", due to their part in holding the important crossroads town during the Battle of the Bulge.
"Breakthrough" – According to the Center of Military History, the 4th was "sometimes called the 'Breakthrough Division,' but the division never officially pursued the designation, preferring to be 'known by its deeds alone.'"[4]
From the Vietnam Era "Funky Fourth". "Poison Ivy".
"Iron Horse" – official nickname, has been recently adopted to indicate the speed and power of the division
"Famous Fighting Fourth"
"Lost Lieutenants" or "4 Lieutenants Pointing North" – a play on the division shoulder sleeve insignia and the stereotype of 2nd Lieutenants being inexperienced and unskilled.
"Bayonet Division" – this nickname "became synonymous with the division through its participation in the Korean War and symbolizes the fighting spirit of the men of the 7th Infantry division."[14]
"H-Hour" – Shoulder patch: Red circular patch bearing black hour glass which is formed by an inverted "7" and a superimposed "7".
"Golden Arrow" – Official as of 1948. Shoulder patch: An upward pointing gold arrow piercing a silver figure "8" on a blue shield.
"Pathfinder Division" – Official; original nickname (supplanted by "Golden Arrow" and later reinstated), so named in honor of John C. Fremont, an explorer of California, the namesake of Camp Fremont, which is where the division was formed.
”The Eight-Up Division” (play on words and the design of the patch alluding to the Army term “ate up” which means incompetent)
"Americal" – At one point in time this was the official Divisional designation, when it was redesignated as the 23rd Infantry Division, Americal became the divisional nickname. Originally formed in World War II out of separate American National Guard units on the island of New Caledonia, hence the origin of the name.
"Tropic Lightning" – Official (adopted August 3, 1953). In 1942 the division was ordered to deploy to Guadalcanal to relieve U.S. Marines there; only 31 days were required to accomplish the mission and earned the division its official designation. The Division patch is a taro leaf (indicating Hawaii, where the division was formed), and a lightning bolt, "representative of the manner in which the Division performs its allotted assignments."[4]
"Electric Strawberry" – so called because the shoulder patch taro leaf resembles a strawberry with a lightning bolt on it.
"Blue and Gray" – In 1919, when shoulder sleeve insignia were first authorized, the division consisted of two masses of men, one from the North (represented by blue) and the other from the South (represented by gray).[5]
"Les Terribles" – ("The Terrible Ones" intended as a complement, given by French General Charles Mangin after their decisive action against the Germans at the WW1 Second Battle of the Marne
"Santa Fe" – The badge is a blue background with a white "Santa Fe cross", a device used to mark the old Santa Fe Trail, an area where the division trained
"Ball of Fire" – Nickname adopted during its deployment to Korea.
"Flaming Assholes" – The unofficial nickname came from the Korean War era when the unit was training in Japan. It was a combined result of disparaging remarks made by Army regulars about the National Guard division and the appearance of the unit shoulder sleeve insignia. The California Guardsmen took to their new nickname with a soldier's sense of humor, and turned it into a rallying symbol (sometimes used for the 9th Infantry Division, due to the appearance of that division's shoulder sleeve insignia).
"Fightin' 69th" – official nickname; earned after breaking through the Siegfried Line in 1945.
"Three B's" – nickname adopted during training. Humorous reference to the division's dislike of frequent bivouacking ordered by their original Commander, Charles L. Bolte.[15]
90th Infantry Division – The T & O Division– Due to the members of the WWI division being from the Texas-Oklahoma area, close to Mexico, "Tough 'Ombres" taken from the T O of the division shoulder patch, Ombres being a contraction for the Spanish Hombres, "Men, Tough Men."
