A fun one I remember from a Coworker who was in the 1st ID was that when they were first deployed, somehow a rumor got started among the enemy that anyone wearing a "Bloody One" was a killer, and the patch was a mark of their kill. So his commanding officer decided to run with that. Anyone who came into theater fresh off the plane was either given a grey patch or an alternative insignia. Any time there was a firefight with a reported KIA, someone got a patch. Patches would keep being given out the more fights they were in. They had this absolute mountain of a man who was their machine gunner, and he had well over a dozen patches.

For a while, it did actually result in a noticeable drop in enemy activity in their sector, because they didnt want to fight the "Bloody Killers".

A fun one I remember from a Coworker who was in the 1st ID was that when they were first deployed, somehow a rumor got started among the enemy that anyone wearing a "Bloody One" was a killer, and the patch was a mark of their kill. So his commanding officer decided to run with that. Anyone who came into theater fresh off the plan was either given a grey patch or an alternative insignia. Any time there was a firefight with a reported KIA, someone got a patch. Patches would keep being given out the more fights they were in. They had this absolute mountain of a man who was their machine gunner, and he had well over a dozen patches.

For a while, it did actually result in a noticeable drop in enemy activity in their sector, because they didnt want to fight the "Bloody Killers".