US Army 84th Infantry Division shoulder sleeve patch with an axe splitting a rail

Shoulder sleeve insignia, 84th Infantry Division, United States Army, known as the Railsplitters, of the type used during World War II. The circular red patch depicts a white hatchet splitting a railroad tie. The Unit was activated in 1917 during World War I and drew troops from Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky; all states important in the life of Abraham Lincoln. They were nicknamed the Lincoln Division in his honor, and later the Railsplitters. The 84th Infantry fought in France, Holland, Belgium, and was in central Germany in May 1945. The Division liberated two subcamps of Neuengamme concentration camp, Hannover-Ahlem on April 10, 1945, and Salzwedel on April 14. Both camps contained many starving and ill prisoners. At Salzwedel, the Division directed the mayor of the nearby town to provide food for the liberated inmates. The 84th Infantry stayed in the region until Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945, becoming part of the Army of Occupation until its return to the United States and inactivation in January 1946.