27th Infantry Regiment Wolfhounds Patch

The 27th Infantry got the name Wolfhounds in Siberia in 1918, from Bolshevik troops who had watched how relentlessly the regiment pursued them. It had been established by act of Congress on February 2, 1901, and first saw combat on Mindanao in 1902. Its troops sailed from Manila on August 7, 1918, and landed at Vladivostok on August 15 and 16 with the American Expeditionary Force in Siberia. The motto, Nec Aspera Terrent, is usually rendered No Fear on Earth. Since 1921 the regiment has served in Hawaii, first with the Hawaiian Division and from August 26, 1941, with the 25th Infantry Division.

The Wolfhounds were in Hawaii when Pearl Harbor was attacked, and went on to fight on Guadalcanal, in the New Georgia campaign and on Luzon with the 25th Infantry Division, Tropic Lightning. In July 1950 the regiment left occupation duty in Japan for Pusan and helped hold the Pusan Perimeter, and it came out of Korea with three Presidential Unit Citations and ten campaign streamers. The 2nd Battalion arrived in Vietnam in January 1966, and the regiment earned a Valorous Unit Award for its fighting in Cu Chi District. Wolfhound battalions earned Meritorious Unit Awards in Iraq for 2004 to 2005, 2006 to 2007 and 2008 to 2009, and a Valorous Unit Award in Afghanistan for 2011 to 2012. The 1st and 2nd Battalions serve today at Schofield Barracks with the 25th Infantry Division.

This one measures 3.12 inches wide by 4.12 inches tall, an upright rectangle with rounded corners and a gold merrowed edge. 27TH INFANTRY REGIMENT runs across the top in two lines of gold block letters on black twill. In the center is a gold wolfhound's head in profile, mouth open and ears up, its coat drawn in black stitching. WOLFHOUNDS runs along the bottom in the same gold. It has an iron-on backing and can be sewn on as well.

There is a gentler side to the name. At Christmas 1949, Wolfhounds on occupation duty in Japan visited the Holy Family Home orphanage in Osaka, and the regiment has supported it ever since, more than seventy years running, which earned it the name Gentle Wolfhounds. The regiment's Medal of Honor recipients run from the Philippine-American War through World War II, Korea and Vietnam. It has been tied to the 25th Infantry Division for more than eight decades. A Wolfhound from Guadalcanal and a Wolfhound from Iraq wear the same gold head.

It fits a shadow box with a Tropic Lightning patch and your Combat Infantryman Badge, or the vest you wear to a Wolfhound reunion. It also makes a good gift for a son or grandson whose father or grandfather served at Schofield. Black and gold, and a wolfhound with its mouth open.