Some Basic Information on insignia
used by the 101st Airborne Division

One of the distinctive forms of insignia worn by the 101st Airborne in WW2 was Helmet Stencils. After the chaos of an Airborne landing, with personnel of various sub units mixed together on the ground, quick assembly by units was essential for carrying out a mission. Symbols readily visible on helmets were expected to facilitate the re-assembly process. Each regiment and the support battalions had a symbol stenciled in white paint on the left and right side of the helmet.

In England before the Normandy Invasion, these were first applied to the steel pots only. Later, stencils were also applied to helmet liners. Although some regimental stencils were applied without a battalion 'tic', a small dash was usually added at the 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, or 9 o'clock positions, to designate battalions, in clockwise order. HQ was at the top. 1st Bn at the 3 o'clock position, 2d battalion at the 6 o'clock position, and 3rd Bn at the 9 o'clock position. In the case of the 326th Engineer Bn, Hq was a tic at the top, with A, B, and C, companies being designated by clockwise tics. The Engineers wore a large 'E' stencil, with company tics as described above.

The Infantry regiments were represented by playing card symbols. Diamonds for 501. Hearts for 502. Spades for 506th. Clubs for the 327th Glider Infantry. Due to a foul-up the entire 3rd Bn of the 506th jumped into Normandy with their Bn tic in the 1st Bn position (3 o'clock. instead of 9 o'clock). This was corrected later in WW2. All units also utilized the standard ETO stencils of vertical and horizontal bars along the rear of the helmet for officers and non corns These markings were clear signals to enemy snipers and were sometimes covered or eliminated in combat. The members of divisional HQ wore a square stencil with tics to designate Signal Co., MPs, Ordinance, etc.

Small units within the 101st had their own esoteric helmet symbols. All divisional artillery units had a white circle, representing a cannonball, with tics in the following order: top (12 o'clock) Division (HQ)Artillery, 3 o'clock: 321st Glider Field Artillery (GFA) Bn, 6 o'clock: 377th Parachute Field Artillery (PFA) Bn, 9 o'clock: 907th GFA Bn. The 463rd PFA Bn. attached just prior to the Bulge, wore two parallel tics below the circle at 6 o'clock. The 326th medical company wore a white Geneva Cross. The 81st Airborne Anti Aircraft and Anti Tank Artillery Bn wore a white triangle, The Division Recon platoon wore a white 'R' and the divisional band wore a white Lyre.