NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH – 45TH INFANTRY DIVISION (THUNDERBIRD DIVISION)

 NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH – 45TH INFANTRY DIVISION (THUNDERBIRD DIVISION)






Like many units drawn from areas where Native American culture remained strong during the 20th century, the 45th Infantry Division identified strongly with that heritage and included many Native Americans from multiple different Nations.

Formally organized in 1923 as a National Guard Division, the 45th ID included units from Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado, sparsely populated states with a strong Native American presence; as of 1940, the 45th included about 2,000 Native Americans from some fifty tribes.

To honor that heritage the 45th adopted a yellow-on-red swastika as its insignia, long a common symbol used by the Southwest and Plains Nations. 

The rise of Nazi Germany in the 1930’s forced the 45th to reassess its insignia, replacing it in 1939 with the iconic yellow-on-red thunderbird.

The Thunderbird Division deployed to Europe in 1943 and fought through 511 days of combat, including four amphibious landings and action in Italy, France, and Germany, earning a reputation as an indomitable fighting force.

Near the war’s end, the 45th ID fought its way into southern Germany, capturing Nuremberg and Munich; on 29 April 1945, the 45th ID, 42d ID, and 20th AD converged on the Dachau death camp, liberating thousands of Holocaust survivors. 

After a post-war reorganization into an all-Oklahoma unit, the 45th ID was once again sent overseas in 1951 to fight the Korean War. The Thunderbird Division saw 429 days of combat across four campaigns, including the famous Battle of Old Baldy, and returned to the U.S. in 1954.

Between WWII and Korea, ten Medals of Honor were earned by the men of the 45th ID, four of those by Native American soldiers of various Nations.

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