WW II-5th Infantry 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 20-Jan-19 this trackable had survived for 6.3 years and had been moved by 61 cachers, for an average drop every 38 days. Please keep it moving, then drop it in a safe place!

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 5th Infantry Division landed on Utah Beach, 9 July 1944 and four days later took up defensive positions in the vicinity of Caumont.  In August the division had successful attacks at Vidouville, Angers, Chartres (assisted by the 7th Armored Division), and crossed the Seine at Montereau, crossed the Marne and seized Reims and positions east of Verdun.
 
The color red was selected for the patch as a compliment to the then Commanding Officer whose branch of the service was the Artillery.  The "ace of diamonds" was selected from the trade phrase "Diamond dye - it never runs."  Symbolically the diamond is comprised of two adjacent isosceles triangles which make for the for the greatest structural strength.