The stars were placed on the Division's WWII patch and reprepresent the Constellation known as the Southern Cross or Crux Australis.
The stars represent the Southern Cross constellation at the time of the Guadalcanal campaign.
The Second Marine Division is a ground division of the United States Marine Corps, one of the branches of the United States Armed Forces. It is an infantry division and is part of the II Marine Expeditionary Force. It is based at Camp Lejune in North Carolina. The current commander is Major General John Toolan. The division includes the second, sixth, eighth, and tenth Marine Regiments, the second assault amphibian, combat engineer, light armored reconnaissance, reconnaissance, and tank battalions. The Second Marine Division was formally created on February 1, 1941 during World War II. They were originally based in California. As a result, during the war, the division was primarily focused on operations in the Pacific Theater. These included the battles of Guadalcanal in 1943, Tarawa in 1943, Saipan in 1944, Tinian 1944, and Okinawa in1945. They were also part of the force that occupied Nagasaki after the nuclear bomb was dropped there. African-Americans served in the Second Marine Division during World War II, and the division awarded Purple Hearts to Staff Sergeant Timerlane Kirven and Corporal Samuel J Love for their service and wounds suffered during the Battle of Saipan in June and July of 1944. Notable post-war operations include their action in the U.S. intervention in the 1958 Lebanon Crisis, and as part of the response to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis in Guantanamo Bay. In the 1980s, they took part in the invasion of Panama. The division was also part of the first Gulf War in the 1990s. More recently, during the war on terror, the division has deployed to Kuwait and Iraq, including operations in Fallujah. The insignia for the division is a red spearhead. It shows a hand holding a torch with a "2" on the base and five stars. The stars are in the pattern of the Southern Cross constellation, inspired by their operations Guadalcanal during World War II. It was used as a shoulder patch until 1947 when they were disallowed by the Marine Corps. Since then, the insignia has still appeared on other artifacts of the division.
Many US Army divisions have their origins in the WWI era, including the 27th ID. In peacetime, the 27th ID is the New York National Guard, which accounts for the "NY" on the patch. The divisions created for WWI all got nicknames, and the soldiers of the 27th chose "Orions" for theirs. This was a play on words based on the name of the general commanding the 27th ID, General O'Ryan. The stars on the blue background on the division patch are the constellation Orion.
Because a flag is supposed to have the stars facing forward. When it comes to a US flag by itself, that would mean the stars are on the left where they will be considered facing forward. But when it comes to a military uniform, forward is the direction that the Soldier is facing. So on the right arm the flag will have to be reversed in order for the stars to face forward.
Harvey Keitel
Four
The highest ranking officer of the US Marine Corps is Commandant of the Marine Corps Paygrade O-10.
The Stars play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference.
Harvey Keitel
They are stars, and they signify how long your membership is. the more stars and different colours, is the longer memberships. :)
Subsequent awards.