Also known as a unit crest or DUI, a 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.
White and blue, the two primary colors of the 508th Infantry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia, are those used by Infantry. A lion on the bend (diagonal bar) is the same as the leopard used by in the arms of the French region of Normandy and commemorates the 508th’s participation in the Normandy invasion. The bar is colored silver to honor the organization’s crossing of the Rhine River in the closing months of World War II. “Fury From The Sky” is the Regimental motto.
This DUI was was first approved for the 508th Airborne Infantry Regiment on 26 November 1951 and was redesignated for the 508th Infantry Regiment on 3 December 1962.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.
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Activated in October 1942 as the 508th Parachute Infantry, the Regiment was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division during World War II and fought in four World War II campaigns in the European Theater, earning two Arrowhead devices to complement its Normandy and Rhineland campaign streamers. In addition to a Presidential Unit Citation, the Regiment was tapped for two French Croix de Guerre with Palm awards, a French Fourragere, a Military Order of William (Degree of the Knight of the Fourth Class), a Netherlands Orange Lanyard, and a Belgian Fourragere 1940 for a remarkable three citations in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army.
After redesignation in July 1962 as the 508th Infantry, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System, elements of the Regiment took part in Operation Powerpack, the Armed Forces Expedition in the Dominican Republic in 1965 and 1966. Arriving in Vietnam in 1968, the 1st Battalion fought in seven Vietnam War campaigns and was honored with a Valorous Unit Award for its role in ultimately repelling the North Vietnamese in Saigon and Hue during the 1968 Tet Offensive.
Both the 1st and 2nd Battalions would take part in operations in Grenada and Panama during the 1980s, but only the 1st Battalion would deploy to Southwest Asia in support of the Persian Gulf War. During the War on Terrorism, the Regiment’s units have been credited with participation in four campaigns, two from Afghanistan (Consolidation II and III) and two from Iraq (Liberation of Iraq with Arrowhead and Transition of Iraq). Military Decorations earned during deployments to those countries include three Valorous Unit Awards and two Meritorious Unit Commendations.
As of 2021, the Regiment’s two Battalions are both assigned to Brigades in the 82nd Airborne Division. The 1st Battalion serves in the Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team and the 2nd Battalion assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, and both Battalions are stationed at Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg) ,NC