Worn from:
28 May 1963 - 1972.

The 173rd Infantry Brigade was organized in August 1917 as an
element of the Eighty-seventh Division at Camp Pike, Arkansas
and re-designated in March 1963 as the 173rd Airborne Brigade.
The bayonet is used to refer to the brigade and, borne by the
wing, alludes to the brigade's status. Red, white, and blue are
the national colors. The patch appeared in modified form, reflecting
both unit pride and antiauthoritarian attitudes during the Vietnam War.
One version had interlocked black-and-white fists bearing the slogan
"Two Shades of Soul Togetherness." Another version replaced the winged
bayonet with a winged opium pope. The patch is shown here on a pocket
hangar as worn in Vietnam. A crack paratrooper force, remembered for
the "airborne spirit" shown at the battle of Dak To, 1-7 November 1967,
they were the first major army combat unit sent into Vietnam.
The brigade was affectionately known by its nickname "The Herd."

Campaigns:
World War II (Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe),
Vietnam (Defense, Counteroffensive and Phases II/III/IV/V/VI/VII,
Tet and Tet/69 Counteroffensives, Summer-Fall 1969, Winter-Spring 1970,
Sanctuary Counter - offensive, Consolidation I).

Decorations:
Presidential Unit Citation Army
(streamer embroidered Dak To),
Meritorious Unit Commendation Army
(streamer embroidered Vietnam 1965 - 1969),
Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm
(streamer embroidered Vietnam 1965 - 1970),
Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal
First Class (streamer embroidered Vietnam 1969 - 1971).