Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the 45th Infantry

DivisionEli Baana

The Thunderbird Division

Design• Four Points: CO, OK, NM, AZ

• Colors Represent Spanish Exploration/Settlement

• Swastika until 1924

• Woodrow Crumbo (Potawatomi)

• Thunderbird: Bearer of Unlimited Happiness

Arley Joseph Baana (1918-1996)

Grandpa Joe• Barnesville, MN

• 24 Years Old

• Anti-Tank Gunman

• 157th Infantry Regiment (CO)

Arzew-Sicily

June-July 1943• Arzew, French Algeria

• Sicily, Italy (July 10)

• Allies: 180,000

• Axis: 230,000

• Italian Surrender (Sept. 3)

Salerno-Monte Cassino

September 1943 – January 1944• Amphibious Assault at

Salerno

• Northern Push

• Gustsav Line (Winter Line)

• Monte Cassino

• Operation Shingle

Anzio: Behind Enemy Lines

January-May 1994• German Panzer Corps

• Grandpa is Wounded (Feb. 16)

• Back and Forth Struggle

• Rome is Captured (June 4)

The Thunderbird Lives On…

European Campaign• Southern France (Operation

Dragoon)

• Rhineland

• Ardennes-Alsace

• Bavaria (Dachau)

Post WWII• Korean War 1951-1954

• Restructuring of Divisions

• 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (OK Army National Guard) 1968-present

Picture Sources

• tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil

• history.army.mil

• 45thdivision.org

• National Archives