WWII US Army 101st Airborne Division Pathfinder Patch

Here is a scarce 101st Pathfinder “White Tongue” patch in good condition with light age and wear. Two piece separate tab.

During World War II, it was Pathfinders were renowned for their role in Operation Overlord the D-Day landings and airborne landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the liberation of the Netherlands and, perhaps most famously, its action during the Battle of the Bulge around the city of Bastogne, Belgium and on to the Eagles Nest.
The first paratroopers to be dropped on Normandy are the pathfinders. These men are grouped into teams each consisting of a lieutenant element leader, four transmission operators and four paratroopers responsible for overall security during operations. They are dropped into enemy territory without initial marking, simply based on terrain observation and navigation calculations aboard the C-47 Dakota.

The Pathfinders are then tasked with drop zones (DZ) and landing zones (LZ) before the arrival of the airborne fighting companies while implementing the “Eureka” transceivers of which they are equipped. The latter send pulses picked up by the “Rebecca” transceivers installed under the fuselage of the C-47s, which allows the pilots to orient themselves. It is also possible to use these two means of transmission to send short Morse messages, both for pilots and for scouts.

Code: 56409