5th Infantry Division:
The Red Diamond Division.

When the U.S. entered WW II, the 5th Division was assigned
to the Regular Army with Headquarters at Fort Custer, Michigan.
In September of 1941, part of the Division (the 1Oth Regiment)
was detached and sent to Iceland while the rest of the
Division was sent to Louisiana on maneuvers. The entire Division
arrived in Iceland in March of 1942 and then proceeded to England
and Northern Ireland for further training.

The shoulder patch worn by the 5th Division is based on a
WW I design approved by the AEF on October 20th, 1918.
According to a letter written in December of 1918 by the
Division Chief of Staff, the shoulder patch was adapted
from a baggage marking that was placed on all 5th Division
troop baggage for ready indentification. This design was
later used on Division transport vehicles and had a "5" in
the center but was adopted as a shoulder patch without the
numeral.

In addition, the "red diamond" was chosen to honor the (then)
Division commander who was from the Artillery branch
(red is the color for Artillery). The Ace of Diamonds was
a well-known trade name of a cloth dye with the slogan,
"Diamond dye; it never runs." The Red Diamond is also a
well known problem in bridge building: it is made of two
adjacent isosceles triangles (a triangle that has two sides
of equal length) which makes for the greatest strength.