The "Big Red One" was the nickname in World War Two for the battle-hardened 1st US Infantry Division. It derived this nickname from its large red '1' shoulder patch. It was the US Army's oldest active division. It was also known as 'The First Team'. It saw action in the North African and Sicilian campaigns, and in northwestern Europe after it landed on OMAHA beach in the D-Day invasions at Normandy.

A movie about the unit was created in 1980 and was also titled "The Big Red One." It follows a rifle infantry squad (including Mark Hamill) from Operation Torch (an American landing in North Africa) all the way to the liberation of a Nazi concentration camp in Czechloslovakia. Directed by Samuel Fueller the movie has only one moral as said in the film: "The real glory of war is surviving."