56.10.25
Patch, Military
1945
First Team Patch. Material: textile. Size: 3" x 4 3/4" Description: yellow triangular Norman Shield; rounded corners; black diagonal stripe extends over shield from upper left to lower right; upper right contains black horse's head cut off diagonally at neck; Army Green border.
Lester Quitney was with the Tank Destroyer Battalion 899 for the United States Army from 1943-1945. He worked at a CCC Camp in Washington State in December 1941. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 and served in Rhineland Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge), Central Europe, Northern France and Normandy until being honorably discharged in 1945. The 1st Cavalry Division has a history as colorful as its design, reflecting the proud heritage of the United States Cavalry in a timeless manner. The traditional Cavalry color of yellow and the horse's head is symbolic of the original organizational structure of the Cavalry. The color black is symbolic of iron, alluding to the organizational transition from mounted horses to tanks and heavy armor. The black stripe, in heraldry termed a "Sable Bend", represents a "baldric" (a standard Army issue belt worn over the right shoulder to the opposite hip - sometimes referred to as a "Sam Browne belt") which retains either a scabbard which sheaths the trooper's saber or revolver holster.