The 312th Field Hospital Distinctive Unit Insignia, also called a unit crest or DUI, was first approved for the 3rd Station Hospital on 21 October 1942. It was redesignated twice, first for the 312th Evacuation Hospital (with revised description and symbolism) on 6 April 1971 and again 16 September 1993 for the 312th Field Hospital, also with revised description.
A maroon saltire (“x” shape) is a symbol of assistance, aid, and support. Superimposed on it is the foxglove, a plant that is the source of digitalis, and a saber; combined, they allude to the medical and military aspect of the organization. VIVE, the unit motto which translates in English as LIVE, succinctly conveys the unit’s basic purpose.Distinctive Unit Insignias are 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. More 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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Inactivated in August 2005, the 312th Field Hospital was originally constituted as the 3rd Hospital Station in 1924. Deployed to North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe in World War II, the unit was inactivated in New Jersey in 1945. It was reactivated for a brief stint from 1947 to 1952, then inactivated from 1952 to 1955. Reactivated in Birmingham, Alabama, it relocated from Birmingham to Tuscaloosa in 1959 and was redesignated as the 312th Evacuation Hospital.
Based in North Carolina from 1961 until its inactivation in 2005, the unit was redesignated as the 312th Evacuation Hospital and deployed to Vietnam in 1968, where its service from 1 October 1968 to 31 May 1969 was recognized with the unit’s selection for a Meritorious Unit Commendation. On 8 June 1969, 1st Lieutenant Sharon Lane, a nurse assigned to the 312th after it arrived in Vietnam, was killed when an enemy mortar struck the Vietnamese Ward; she was the unit’s only death while deployed to Vietnam and the only nurse to die from hostile fire during the entire conflict.
For its last dozen years of active service, the unit was designated as the 312th Field Hospital. Even before an inactivation ceremony was held in September 2005, the unit’s mission had already been assumed by the 320th Medical Company and the 382nd Minimum Care Detachment.