15th Cavalry Regiment Patch

The two crossed blades on this patch are not cavalry sabers, they are a kris and a kampilan, the Philippine weapons the 15th Cavalry faced in its first campaigns. The gold lion above them recalls Bordeaux, France, for the regiment's service near that city in World War I. Red over white splits the shield the way the old cavalry guidon was split. The scroll gives the motto in French, Tous pour un, un pour tous, all for one, one for all. Every piece of it points to a place the 15th Cavalry actually went.

The 15th Cavalry was organized in 1901 at the Presidio of San Francisco and was soon in the Philippines. It was inactivated in 1921 at Fort D.A. Russell, Wyoming, and came back in 1942 at Fort Riley, Kansas, as a mechanized cavalry regiment. In 1944 it was reorganized as the 15th Cavalry Group with two cavalry reconnaissance squadrons for the fight in Europe. After the war it became a constabulary regiment in occupied Germany until December 1946 at Fussen. It was formed again in 1950 as an armored cavalry group at Camp Polk, Louisiana, served at Fort Knox until 1955, and was brought back in 1958 under the regimental system.

The patch follows the regiment's shield with its gold scroll wrapped around the base. The top third is red with a gold lion walking left, tail curled high. The lower field is white, with the kris and kampilan crossed in black and outlined in gold. TOUS POUR UN runs down the left side of the scroll and UN POUR TOUS up the right, in red on gold. It measures 3.25 by 3.5 inches with a cut edge that follows the scroll, and it has a sew-on backing.

The lion and the blades trace straight back to where the regiment served: the islands and France. The motto is the Three Musketeers line, and for troopers it meant what it says, a troop rides or falls together. Through horses, mechanized reconnaissance, constabulary duty and the regimental system, the 15th kept the same lion, the same blades and the same words. Troopers who served in any of its squadrons recognize this shield on sight.

Mount it in a shadow box with a trooper's spurs and Stetson cord, or sew it to a jacket for a squadron reunion. It is a good gift for anyone whose father or grandfather wore 15th Cavalry colors. All for one, one for all, stitched in gold.