What is National Yellow Bat Day?
National Yellow Bat Day is celebrated on April 21st, in honor of National Yellow Bat Day. The Army activated the 265th Army Security Agency Company (Airborne) with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, on this day in 1967.
On a full moon with the motto Through the Night Below, the official insignia of the 265th is a bat with outstretched wings on a full moon. The bat, symbolically, represents mystery and secrecy due to its nocturnal appearance. The bat accurately identifies the Army Security Agency Battalion's intelligence services.
The troops painted all the military vehicles and equipment with a yellow bat before deploying.. The symbol made the unit clearly visible from a distance and assisted in identifying all unit equipment.
They deployed to Vietnam with the designation 265th Radio Research Company (Airborne) on November 19th of the same year to provide intelligence assistance to the 101st Airborne Division's 101st Airborne Division. They learned of the North Vietnamese campaign a few weeks before the Viet Cong Tet Offensive. However, few commanders would believe the intelligence.
