Description

SERVICE UNIFORM – TECHNICAL SERGEANT 2ND GRADE – 36TH INFANTRY DIVISION

The 36th Infantry Division (“Arrowhead”), also known as the “Panther Division”, “Lone Star Division”, “The Texas Army”, or the “T-patchers”, is an infantry division of the United States Army and part of the Texas Army National Guard. It was organized during World War I from units of the Texas and Oklahoma National Guard.  As an all-Texas unit, it was called for service for World War II 25 November 1940, was sent to the European Theater of Operations in April 1943, and returned to the Texas Army National Guard in December 1945.

A unit of the 36th Infantry, the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, was detached and sent to the Pacific just before the outbreak of war in late 1941. Its members were captured by the Japanese and forced into slave labor. Its fate was unknown for most of the rest of World War II, resulting in it being nicknamed the “Lost Battalion”.

The 36th Infantry Division was reconstituted in a May 2004 reorganization of the 49th Armored Division.

The division has been active in search and rescue efforts following natural disasters, as well as supporting the rebuilding of affected areas.

U.S. Army basic service uniforms consisted of a winter service uniform of olive drab wool worn in temperate weather, and a summer service uniform of khaki cotton fabric worn in tropical weather. In addition to the service uniforms worn for ordinary duty and dress purposes there were a variety of fatigue and combat uniforms. Summer and winter service uniforms were worn during their respective seasons in the continental United States. During the war, the European Theater of Operations (Northwestern Europe) was considered a year-round temperate zone and the Pacific Theater of Operations a year-round tropical uniform zone. In the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, U.S. soldiers wore both seasonal uniforms.