28th Infantry Division Keystone Patch

They are the oldest continuously serving division in the United States Army—a formation whose history runs through every major American conflict of the last century. The 28th Infantry Division, marked by its unmistakable red Keystone, carries a legacy built in the trenches of France, the hedgerows of Normandy, the forests of the Ardennes, and the complex battlefields of the modern era. To wear the Keystone is to stand within a tradition more than a hundred years old.

The division first entered the world stage in World War I, fighting in France with the American Expeditionary Forces. At the Marne, Fismes, Fismette, and during the massive Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the 28th proved its toughness and discipline in some of the fiercest fighting of the war. The Germans took careful note of the bright red Keystone patch, recognizing a division that hit hard, held fast, and refused to break.

Two decades later, the 28th returned to Europe in World War II, where the division would earn its famous nickname. During brutal fighting in Normandy, the enemy began calling the Keystone soldiers the “Bloody Bucket Division”—a grim acknowledgment of the division’s fierce combat performance and the red patch that marked them. They pushed through the bocage, crossed rivers under fire, and fought doggedly through France and Luxembourg.

In August 1944, the 28th made history again when its soldiers became the first American division to parade down the Champs-Élysées after the liberation of Paris—a moment that linked the Keystone forever to the story of France’s freedom.

The division’s most harrowing chapter came in the Battle of the Bulge, where its thinly stretched lines absorbed the first shock of Germany’s surprise offensive. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Keystone held the forests and villages of the Ardennes long enough to slow the German advance, buying precious time for reinforcements to arrive. Their resistance came at tremendous cost, but it helped turn the tide of the largest battle fought by the U.S. Army in World War II.

After the war, the 28th Infantry Division continued to serve through the Cold War and into the modern era. Its soldiers deployed to Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan, supporting peacekeeping missions, counterinsurgency operations, and coalition training efforts. Whether responding to conflicts overseas or domestic emergencies at home, the Keystone remains a symbol of readiness and resolve.

The 28th Infantry Division Keystone patch honors this storied unit and the generations who have worn its emblem. It represents the force that stood firm in the Marne, fought through Normandy, held the line in the Ardennes, marched into Paris, and continues to serve with distinction today. To wear it is to carry the legacy of one of the Army’s most historic divisions.