Authorized on 6 September 1968, the Sixth United States Army unit crest—officially called a Distinctive Unit Insignia, or DUI—is a tribute to the organization’s two-plus years of combat service in the Pacific Theater During World War II. Code-named “Alamo Force” in honor of Sixth Army commander Lieutenant General Walter Kreuger’s hometown of San Antonio, the Army took part in four campaigns in the Pacific—New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, Leyte, and Luzon—and was honored with a Meritorious Unit Commendation and a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.
Following the war, the Sixth Army—redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Sixth United States Army in January 1957—was tasked with the training of incoming Soldiers until its inactivation in 1995 at the Presidio of San Francisco. It was activated again in 2007 as the U.S. Army South, the Army service component of U.S. Southern Command.
The centerpiece of the Sixth Army’s unit crest is a six-pointed white star, with the shape formed from the red and golden beams of sunlight streaming from it forming a second six-pointed star. Red rays are an allusion to Japan, while the second six-pointed star is an emblem of the Pacific Theater. Four blue stars represent the four campaigns that the Sixth Army took part in during World War II, and the golden rays recall the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation. In toto, the insignia bears a striking resemblance to a bursting shell and reinforces the unit motto “Born Of War.”
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
The Distinctive Unit Insignia is worn by all Soldiers (except General Officers) in units that have been authorized to be issued the device. It is worn centered on the shoulder loops of the Army Green Service Uniform (AGSU) and the blue Army Service Uniform (ASU, Enlisted only) with the base of the insignia toward the outside shoulder seam. DUIs are not worn on the Dress variations of either uniform, however.
Full guidance on wear of the DUI is found in DA Pamphlet 670-1,
Section 21-22, "Distinctive unit insignia" and 21–3(d) and (e),
"Beret" and
"Garrison Cap," respectively