WW II-3rd Armored in Normandy TB

I maintain records on my trackables. For a US-based trackable, this one is unusual for its longevity and movement. In the six-year period, 2010-16, the owner released a total of 2563 trackables in the United States (96%) and Europe (4%). This trackable is one of the 5% of the total that circulated for at least 5 years and had been moved at least 25 times. That is a target rate of at least five drops per year for five years, or a drop every 73 days. The average drop rate of my trackables in the US is 124 days, in Europe it is 71 days. As of 16-Aug-22 this one has survived for 9.8 years and had been moved by 49 cachers, for an average drop every 73 days. Please keep it moving!

No permission is needed to leave the U.S. While in the US, please drop it in a Premium Member only OR a rural cache near a busy trail or road. Do not place it in an urban cache or abandon it at a caching event where there is no security. Transport the bug in the original plastic bag for as long as the bag lasts; the bag keeps the trackable clean and dry, protects the number and prevents tangling with other items. Otherwise, take the trackable anywhere you wish.

Replica Shoulder Patch. This travel bug is one of several made to recognize the US Army Divisions that fought in Normandy and elsewhere in France in 1944. In the summer of 2012 the travel bug owner activated, dipped, then, in October, took the travel bugs to Normandy beaches, towns, museums and the American cemetery above Omaha Beach. Some of the bugs were released in France, but most were brought back to the states to be put into circulation.
  
The shoulder patch insignia for all of the armored divisions has the same basic pattern.    It is of three interlaced torques, no one of which would be sufficient without the other two.  Combined, they form a single triangle, a device indicating integrity and esprit de corps.  The colors yellow, red and blue, are those of the basic arms: Cavalry, Field Artillery, and Infantry.  The super-imposed black symbols have a more modern meaning: the tank track for mobility and armor protection, the cannon for fire power, and the bolt of lightning to designate shock action.  The only differences between the division patches is the Arabic numeral in the yellow field designating the division and, when present, the division nickname on a yellow tab at the bottom of the triangle.
 
The division was first activated in 1941.  The first elements of the 3rd Armored in France saw combat on 29 June, with the division as a whole beginning combat operations on 9 July 1944.  During this time, it was assigned to the First Infantry and "spearheaded" the First through Normandy, taking part in a number of engagements, notably including the Battle of Saint Lô, where it suffered significant casualties. After facing heavy fighting in the hedgerows, and developing methods to overcome the vast thickets of brush and earth that constrained its mobility, the unit broke out at Marigny, alongside the 1st Infantry Division, and swung south to Mayenne.