Original Item. Only One Available. The 88th Infantry Division was one of the first all-draftee divisions of the United States Army to enter the war. Ordered into active military service at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma, the division, commanded by Major General John E. Sloan, arrived at Casablanca, French Morocco on 15 December 1943, and moved to Magenta, Algeria, on the 28 December for intensive training. Destined to spend the war fighting on the Italian Front, the 88th Division arrived at Naples, Italy on 6 February 1944, and concentrated around Piedimonte d'Alife for combat training. An advance element went into the line before Monte Cassino on 27 February, and the entire division relieved the battered British 46th Infantry Division along the Garigliano River in the Minturno area on 5 March. A period of defensive patrols and training followed. The 88th formed part of Major General Geoffrey Keyes' II Corps, part of the U.S. Fifth Army, under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark.

This is an extremely scarce Distinguished Insignia (DI) for the 88th Infantry Division. This example is Italian-Made, and is a very scarce variant featuring the “Blue Devil” himself in the center of the blue clover. Below this is an American flag and a scroll reading U.S. ARMY ITALY. The Pin measures roughly ⅞ x 1” and retains the safety pin to the back, which is now a bit loose in its notch.

A fantastic example with great service wear. Worn by 88th Division troops protecting Italy and Trieste against Yugoslavia in the earliest US military actions in the Cold War against Communist under Tito’s Yugoslavian troops 1946-47.

Comes ready to display!