U.S. ARMY CSIB, 9TH INFANTRY DIVISION PATCH "THE OLD RELIABLES" COLD WAR KOREA

Description

U.S. ARMY CSIB, 9TH INFANTRY DIVISION PATCH
2.5" in diameter.  Excellent preowned condition.  It was framed after service until the day of this listing. From the estate of John S. Bailey who worked in Intelligence during the Berlin Crisis among other numerous and honorable accomplishments. The patch comes from his service in the Korean War, the beginning of the Cold War Era.
Though the 9th Infantry Division was constitutedon July, 1918 at the climax of World War I, the unit did not see action until it was deployed as part of the Allied invasion of North Africa in 1942. The division earned the distinction of becoming the first Allied unit to liberate a city from Axis control when it captured the Moroccan city of Safi in early November. In March, 1943, the division launched an attack in southern Tunisia and liberated the city of Bizerte on May 7. A few months later, the unit landed at Palermo in August to take part in Operation Husky, capturing the cities of Randazzo and Messina. After landing on Utah Beach on June 10, 1944, the division took part in the liberation of Cherbourg and Saint-Lo before helping close the Falaise Gap in August. In March, 1945, it crossed the Remagen bridge en route to clearing the Ruhr Pocket just before the German surrender.
It was during these years of combat that the divisions nickname was changed from The Varsity (as in first team) when famed sportswriter Lindsey Nelson, a captain in the units public affairs office, was asked to come up with a new moniker. Reading a letter from V Corps Commander General Clarence Heubner lauding the divisions performance and calling the troops The Old Reliables, Nelson passed the sobriquet along to Division Chief of Staff Colonel George Barth who began using it, and soon the name stuck.
During the Vietnam War, some of the divisions units (most notably the 2nd Brigade) were closely associated with the Mobile Riverine Force, later called Riverines, and operated extensively in the Mekong Delta. The Riverines effectiveness was highly touted by General William Westmoreland, who had served in the 9th Infantry Division during World War II. (Another well-known 9th Infantry Division alumnus is former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who served as a squad leader). The 9th was the only infantry division to be organized in the United States during the fighting in Vietnam. After returning from Vietnam, the division was stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington until its inactivation in 1992.
Far less ornate than its Unit Crest, the CSIB for the 9th Infantry Division employs a double quatrefoil, a heraldic symbol used to signify the ninth son. The quatrefoils red-and-blue coloration is that of an Infantry Divisions HQ flag, and white used for the center is the color of the numbers displayed on divisional flags.
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