In its first iteration, the Sixth Army Shoulder Sleeve Insignia (unit patch) consisted solely of a white, six-pointed star inside a solid red hexagon; this was the patch worn by its Soldiers as they fought in four campaigns in the Pacific Theater during World War II, winning a Meritorious Unit Commendation and a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation in the process. (The unit motto, “Born of War,” is derived from the fact that Sixth Army was activated in 1943 following U.S. entry into World War II.)
In January 1945, a new insignia was approved which featured a design similar to the one seen here (choose “Colored Patch” for reference) except the six-sided star was placed on an olive-drab background. With the introduction of the Class A Green Service uniform in the mid-1950s, the decision was made to change the olive-drab to a color that matched the new uniform more closely.
Sixth Army was redesignated as Sixth United States Army in 1957, and was inactivated on 23 June 1995 at the Presidio of San Francisco. In 2008, it was consolidated with United States Army South (organized in 1986), with the new consolidated unit being designated as U.S. Army South (Sixth Army) but retaining the
U.S. Army South Shoulder Sleeve Insignia featuring a Columbus-era galleon on a blue Mediterranean Sea.