Democratic Republic of the Congo Congo and the Republic of Zaire, before returning to its current name the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the time of independence, the country was named the Republic of Congo-Léopoldville to distinguish it from its neighbour the Republic of the Congo-Brazzaville. With the promulgation of the Luluabourg Constitution on 1 August 1964, the country became the DRC, but was renamed to Zaire (a past name for the Congo River) on 27 October 1971 by President Mobutu Sese Seko as part of his "Authenticité" initiative. The word "Zaire" is from a Portuguese adaptation of a Kikongo word "nzere" ("river"), a
27th Armored Division (United States) 27th Armored Division (United States) The 27th Armored Division was a United States Army formation. It was part of the New York Army National Guard in the 1950s and 1960s. In February, 1955 a reorganization of the Army National Guard included reorganizing the 27th Infantry Division as the 27th Armored Division. This included exchanging the black and red "NYD" (New York Division) shoulder patch for the triangle-shaped patch of the Army's armor divisions. The 27th Armored Division was called the "Empire Division," after New York's nickname, the Empire State. The division headquarters was originally in Buffalo, and was later moved