Photo By Sgt. Tracy Knowles | First Sgt. Robert Leblanc (right) of Walpole, Mass., attaches the Yankee Division...... read more read more
BAGHDAD — Having spent nearly a month in Iraq, Soldiers of the "Nation's Oldest" engineer brigade, the 101st Engineer Battalion, 225th Engineer Brigade, were awarded the "Yankee Division" Patch during a combat patch ceremony, Sept. 11, at Camp Liberty in Baghdad.
The combat patch is a long-standing Army tradition that recognizes a Soldier for service during war, and indicates the unit command the Soldier fell under.
"The patch is meant to instill pride in you, your service, and your unit," said Lt. Col. Charles Cody, of Braintree, Mass., commander of the 101st Eng. Bn.,
Though Sept. 11 is a somber day of remembrance for those killed in the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, the men and women of the 101st can feel uplifted to know they qualify to wear a new patch on their right shoulder.
"This is the first time since World War II that a battalion sized unit is awarded the YD (Yankee Division patch) for former wartime service," said Command Sgt. Maj. Peter Chase, of Derry, N.H.
The story of the YD patch dates back to the creation of the 26th Infantry Division. The unit's design comes from its nickname the "Yankee Division", originally comprised of National Guard units from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Established in 1917, the division took part in major operations such as Aisne-Marne, Champagne-Marne and Meuse-Argonne during World War I. Following the war, the 26th was deactivated and would have to wait over two decades before being activated for World War II.
In January 1941, the Yankee Div. was reactivated and sent to Europe to fight in World War II. Throughout 1944 and 1945, the unit engaged in operations within Northern France, Central Europe, the Ardennes and the Rhineland. Coincidentally, the 101st Eng. Bn. fought under the 26th Inf. Div. during the war. By the end of 1945, the division was inactivated and would permanently be a structure within the National Guard.
By 1993, the 26th Inf. Div. was deactivated, and the patch retired. In 2006, as part of the restructuring of the Army, the YD patch was brought out of retirement and awarded to the 26th Brigade Combat Team. In September 2008, the unit was reorganized into the 26th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, and in doing so brought the 101st Eng. Bn. officially under its control.
For Soldiers like Master Sgt. Alan Cyr, of Upton, Mass., the day is a personally historic day. He now becomes the third generation in his family to serve and earn the YD patch.
"My grandfather was in the Yankee Div. and earned a Purple Heart with them, but didn't leave France until 1919 due to his wounds," Cyr said. "[Two decades later] my father joined at the end of World War II ... and was with the 26th (that) was part of Patton's Third Army."
"I'm really proud of having earned [the patch]; it's a great source of personal pride for me."
| Date Taken: | 09.12.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 09.12.2009 12:13 |
| Story ID: | 38678 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 583 |
| Downloads: | 375 |
This work, 'Nation's Oldest' earns combat patch, by 1LT Michael Lind, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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