Written by Jenifer Chrisman on April 18, 2016.
“The initial shock was experienced even before entering the camp. The first evidence of the horror to come was a string of about forty railway cars on a siding near the camp entrance. Each car was loaded with emaciated human corpses . . .
The scene near the entrance to the confinement area numbed my senses. Dante’s Inferno seemed pale compared to the real hell of Dachau. A row of small cement structures near the prison entrance contained a coal-fired crematorium, a gas chamber, and rooms piled high with naked and emaciated human corpses. As I turned to look over the prison yard with unbelieving eyes, I saw a large number of dead inmates lying where they had fallen in the last few hours or days before our arrival. Since all the many bodies were in various stages of decomposition, the stench of death was overpowering.”– Lieutenant Colonel Felix Sparks*
Formed in 1924, the 45th Infantry Division was made up of National Guard units from four of the Southwestern states – Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona. Their original insignia was a field of red, representing those of Spanish heritage, with a yellow swastika, in recognition of the large number of Native Americans who served in the division.
The swastika’s origins date back to the ancient Mississippian culture of the Mound Builders of North America. Native Americans were deeply spiritual, using symbols and signs to communicate thoughts, history, ideas and dreams from one generation to the next. These symbols are geometric portrayals that range from representation of actual events, celestial bodies, animal designs and natural phenomena. The swastika is one of their most ancient symbols and elements of it remain today within some tribes.
Derived from Asian Indian Sanskrit, “swasti” meaning well-being of one and all and “ka” meaning symbol represent the revolving sun (fire or life). It is a symbol of peace, life and good luck.
The division proudly wore the insignia on their left shoulder for fifteen years. During that time, in the late 1920s, the Nazi party adopted the swastika as its symbol. In 1933, the swastika became so closely associated with the NSDAP (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or National Socialist German Workers’ Party) during their rise to power that the 45th Infantry Division had to abandon it.
While a design for the new emblem was underway, division members wore no patch for many months. They held a design contest to assist in the selection. Overseen by a board of officers, it was decided to maintain the original colors from the previous insignia in keeping with the formerly established tradition. One of the many design submissions, a thunderbird, was selected and sent up the ranks. After approval by the Commanding General, Eighth Corps Area, and the Chief of National Guard Bureau, the War Department officially approved the new design for manufacture and wear in 1939. The document that approved the new design stated that it was a Native American symbol that signified “sacred bearer of happiness unlimited.”
The thunderbird’s origins also date back to the ancient Mississippian culture of the Mound Builders of North America. Depicted as a large bird of prey, the thunderbird generally has a long beak and legs, a featherless head and curling horns. According to Native American beliefs, the beating of the thunderbird’s enormous wings stirred the wind, caused thunder and, when it blinked its eyes, flashed sheet lightning. Thus, the thunderbird is the symbol of thunder, storms and lightning. Some tribes, when thunder was heard, believed the spirits were at war, but it also foretold victory for tribal wars fought on the ground.
Following the change of insignia, the 45th Infantry Division was deployed to North Africa in late June 1943. A month later they landed in Sicily where they engaged Axis troops. Over the next two years they made their way up the peninsula to Anzio (Italy) where they withstood repeated German assaults, cut cross country to southern France, crossed the Rhine River into Germany and captured the cities of Nuremberg (April 20, 1945) and Munich (April 30, 1945).
As they completed the drive on Munich, the 45th, along with the 42nd Infantry Division and the 20th Armored Division were ordered to liberate Dachau Concentration Camp. The three divisions converged on the camp on April 29, 1949. More than 30,000 prisoners were discovered in the overcrowded camp.
On September 1, 1951, the 45th Infantry Division was the first National Guard unit deployed to Korean. They were awarded four campaign streamers and a Presidential Unit Citation.
In 1985, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the U.S. Army’s Center for Military History recognized the 45th Infantry Division as a liberating unit. The “Thunderbirds” casualties during European theater operations totaled 1,831 deaths in battle and 7,791 battle casualties. During operations in Korea they sustained 834 deaths in battle and 3,170 battle casualties. They were deactivated in 1968.
Sources:
• http://www.45thdivisionmuseum.com/History/SwastikaToThunderbird.html
• http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10006163
• http://www.examiner.com/article/the-u-s-45th-infantry-division-one-donned-swastikas
• http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10006163
• http://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-symbols/swastika-symbol.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Party
• http://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-symbols/thunderbird-symbol.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45th_Infantry_Division_%28United_States%29
*Notes: From Lieutenant Colonel Felix Sparks (Brigadier General; deceased), Third Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, recollection of his first impressions of Dachau.
