25th Infantry

 
rsq001
 
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rsq001
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20 September 2010 16:09
Joseph McMillan
 
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Joseph McMillan
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20 September 2010 17:26
 

A little technicality:  this is the 25th Infantry Division.

If you just say "25th Infantry," that would mean the 25th Infantry Regiment.

 

A common mistake, especially in the media, but worth noting here since the heraldry and history are different.  The 25th Infantry was one of the "Buffalo Soldier" regiments of African-Americans.

 

http://www.buffalosoldiers-lawtonftsill.org/images/image56.jpg

 

It was inactivated in 1946 after President Truman ordered the Army to be integrated.

 
Michael F. McCartney
 
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Michael F. McCartney
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20 September 2010 19:24
 

Joe—interesting!

I was with the 25th Inf Division in South Vietnam.  The reason for the Hawaiian influence in the design (taro leaf shoulder patch & volcano theme in the DUI) is that the division was raised and headquartered in Hawaii.  We flew the Hawaiian flag along with the US flag, & all hoped (in vain) to be demobilized there after the war—but the only part of the division that was returned to the Islands was our cased colors.

 
rsq001
 
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rsq001
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20 September 2010 23:35
 

This is all very interesting information.  My brother just got assigned to the 25th Infantry Division.  Didn’t realize there was that much of a delineation between just infantry and division.  Thank you.

 
Michael F. McCartney
 
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21 September 2010 00:19
 

Wandering OT, but what part of the Division is your brother assigned to, & where?

You can reply by PM if he’s assigned to Div HQ—& will therefore wear the DUI with the volcano & palm leaves—or reply here if he’s assigned to one of the infantry / artillery / etc. battalions or units currently assigned to the 25th Inf Div, in which case someone may want to post that unit’s DUI (coat of arms etc.)

 

Either way, best wishes to your brother & thanks for his service!

 
Nick B II
 
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21 September 2010 09:34
 

rsq001;79157 wrote:

This is all very interesting information.  My brother just got assigned to the 25th Infantry Division.  Didn’t realize there was that much of a delineation between just infantry and division.  Thank you.

The delineation is between a regiment and a division. A regiment is much, much smaller. The names of both include a number and a branch name—so 25th Infantry, 7th Cavalry, etc.

To tell the difference between the two apparently you have to specify a Division is a Division.

 

Nick

 
Joseph McMillan
 
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21 September 2010 11:12
 

Even those who really ought to know better are sometimes guilty of mixing these up.  Army types will routinely refer to the 1st Cav, meaning the division, not the regiment.  It’s also normal to hear 82d Airborne or 3d Mech (both divisions), but less confusingly since there is no such thing, technically, as an airborne or mechanized regiment.

 
rsq001
 
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29 October 2010 01:30
 

Michael F. McCartney;79159 wrote:

Wandering OT, but what part of the Division is your brother assigned to, & where?

You can reply by PM if he’s assigned to Div HQ—& will therefore wear the DUI with the volcano & palm leaves—or reply here if he’s assigned to one of the infantry / artillery / etc. battalions or units currently assigned to the 25th Inf Div, in which case someone may want to post that unit’s DUI (coat of arms etc.)

 

Either way, best wishes to your brother & thanks for his service!


My apologies for the delay, but I am not quite sure what part of the division he is attached to, right now I only know he is in Hawaii and will be shipped out to Iraq by the end of this year.

 
Joseph Staub
 
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29 October 2010 13:14
 

rsq001;80188 wrote:

...will be shipped out to Iraq by the end of this year.


One of my elder cousins was in the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam.  He always fondly called it the Electric Strawberry.

 

 

I, too, thank your brother for his service, and hope and pray for his safe return.

 
Michael F. McCartney
 
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29 October 2010 17:08
 

I well remember the Electric Strawberry.  The helicopter landing pad nearest to the Div HQ at Cu Chi was a large concrete slab in the approx shape of the taro leaf badge, painted red & sporting the yellow lightning flash. From the air, it did indeed resemble a strawberry…

Tho’ whether that was the origin of the term, or just a reflection of an older nickname, I can’t say.

 

Joseph, which part of the Division was your cousin assigned to, & when?  As with my similar earlier query to rsq, reply by PM if it was Division HQ, or here if it was one of the attached units which might have its own DUI.

 
Joseph Staub
 
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29 October 2010 21:41
 

Sorry, Mike, he died a few years back.  I do remember his friendly arguments with my father over which was the better combat arm, infantry or armor, so I assume he was an infantryman.

 
Michael F. McCartney
 
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Michael F. McCartney
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01 November 2010 15:21
 

Sorry to hear of your cousin’s passing.  "We few…" are getting fewer and fewer, I fear.