"At the start of the war the division had another patch, one showing a Native American sign and reflecting the division's Texas and Oklahoma National Guards origin. But the powers in Washington told the division that it had to replace the patch with something else. The original patch had a crooked cross, better known in the WWII era as a swastika, and this would not do for men destined for hard fighting against the Nazi war machine. The Texas/Oklahoma men agreed and chose the thunderbird. My reference for this is my late uncle, Private Eugene Bondurant, who served with the 45th Division in WWII."