The organization today known as United States Army North was originally constituted as Fifth Army on 1 December 1942 and activated on 5 January 1943. Commanded by General Mark Clark for the bulk of its time in combat, Fifth Army first saw action when it hit the beaches at Salerno as part of Operation Avalanche on 9 September 1943. In all, Fifth Army took part in five European campaigns in Italy and faced some of the German Army’s most well-entrenched and heavily fortified defenders, with the fighting at Monte Cassino in particular proving incredibly costly to Fifth Army and its Allied partners.
Following World War II, Fifth Army was named the headquarters for U.S. Army Reserve units, training Army troops while also assuming ground-defense responsibilities for the contiguous 48 states. It was redesignated Fifth United States Army in 1957 and in 1971 was relocated to Fort Sam Houston. After transferring its U.S. Army Reserve responsibilities to First Army, it was was redesignated as United States Army North in 2004 and tasked with homeland defense and the Defense Support of Civil Authorities.
The United States Army North Shoulder Sleeve Insignia was authorized for Fifth Army in April 1943 and features a silhouette of a mosque, an allusion to the fact that the Army was activated at Oujda, French Morocco in January 1943.
Customers who have purchased this item in the past have also expressed interest in the United States Army North
Distinctive Unit Insignia, often referred to as a
unit crest.