A nice issued example of a 

WW-II United States Army

9th Infantry Division

GI's Battle Blouse Shoulder Patch

circa 1943-45.


Originally formed in WW-1 and nicknamed


'The Old Reliables'


the 9th Division remained State-side during the Great War,


not having been designated to join the fighting over in France & Belgium.



However with the outbreak of World War Two,


the 9th Infantry Division entered the war in Europe  very early on 


and by the time of D-day June 6th 1944, had participated in 


8 major battles, including in Algeria, Sicily & Tunisia.



(They would also be destined to be the first US Army unit 


to set foot in Germany in September 1944)



Following the heavy fighting in North Africa,


the 9th Inf Division was sent to England to train & prepare for the 


1944 D-Day assault on the coast of France.. whereupon they landed on 


the American 'Utah Beach' on June 10th (D-Day plus-4),


after which were immediately involved in the 


fighting across the Cotentin Peninsula.



Following a brief rest they went back into action to take St Lo,


then took part in the 'St Lo Breakout' and then helped close the 


pocket at the Falaise Gap, fought on into the Battle of The Huertgen Forest and


then again in the Battle of The Bulge in the Belgian Ardennes.



On March 7th they broke out across the Rhine at Remagen, 


where they fought to clear The Ruhr pocket before,


assisting in the liberation of the


Mittel-Dora Concentration Camp


(where V-2 Rocket engines were being manufactured underground).



In the following weeks the 9th In Div attacked through the Harz Mountains 


and then on April 21st relieved the US 3rd Armored Division near Dessau


and held the area until war's end in May 1945.



Fowling the German surrender the 9th Inf Div moved south to Ingolstadt 


and assumed control of the Dachau Concentration Camp


as part of their occupying duties.



A fantastic piece of insignia from one of  

America's most-involved combat Divisions in WW-II,

the circular cotton patch is in red & blue

on a light brown background

and measuring some 2.75" x 2.75" and in superb condition,

(apart for a small section 'chewed' from the edge),

and still bears the original identifying

label on the back written by a GI which is held in place by a pin.



Another fabulous, original piece of war-time 

Battle of Normandy-related US Insignia

that, as with a number of our other 

US Army & British Airborne-related offerings,

have been in the same West Country house-hold 

close by a combined WW-II 1943-45 

US & British Army Training base 

that was established in the build-up to 

D-Day June 6th 1944

and the later famous 

Battle of The Bulge 

and the
 
Rhine Crossings.


Traded to the farmer next door in exchange for fresh milk, cheese & eggs etc,

the badges swapped were helpfully labelled by the soldiers at the time,

with small hand-written US notes on the rear ID-ing each patch...

and held in place by a now, often rusted, pin..!


Please note:

The 1944 D-Day era US Navy landing craft crewman's helmet shown in the first image

and the final group shots of traded WW-II US Infantry badges are

for display purposes only

 and not for sale in this lot..!


+++ This sale is for the single US 9th Infantry Division patch only! +++



(B/W Photo courtesy of The Tomahawk Films (1990 Ltd) WW-II Archive)


Thanks for looking..!