The 34th Infantry Division Distinctive Unit Insignia was authorized on 27 December 1990. In the center is a black olla (Mexican water container) serving as the background and recalling the unit’s training in New Mexico prior to World War I; it is adapted from the original 34th Infantry Division Shoulder Sleeve Insignia. Also taken from that insignia is a stylized cattle skull that symbolizes vitality, courage, and strength. Obscured by the olla are the staff portions of two fasces; their headstocks imply authority and celebrate the unit’s service in Italy in World War II. “Attack, Attack, Attack” the unit motto, was adopted in 1943 and signified the aggressive nature of the Division’s operations throughout the War.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.
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As the U.S. was being drawn into WW II, the 34th Infantry Division was reactivated in February 1941 with troops from Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Its training included participating in the Louisiana Maneuvers before more than 4,500 soldiers were eventually sent to Europe. Over the course of World War II, the 34th Infantry Division as a whole compiled 517 days on the front lines in North Africa and Italy. Counting individual units, the 34th Infantry Division was in action for 611 days, one of the highest totals of all U.S. Divisions.
Its first major engagement, the Allied invasion of North Africa code-named Operation Torch, saw the Division land at the port and capital city of Algiers, which it captured along with nearby airfields to help the Allies secure Algeria in relatively short order. Over the next few months, it took part in numerous battles, most notably in the critical engagement called the Battle of Hill 609 that led to the Allied conquest of Tunisia in May 1943. The 34th Infantry Division landed at Salerno during September 1943 and attacked the German defenses at the Bernhardt Line during January 1944. At the Mignano Gap, the 34th improvised by utilizing herds of goats to clear minefields.
In bitter fighting at the First Battle of Monte Cassino beginning in January 1944, the 34th suffered a casualty rate of 80 percent before being relieved—a loss rate that is easier to comprehend in light of the fact that it took approximately five Divisions to finally dislodge the Germans from Cassino. Prior to the fall of Monte Casino, the 34th Infantry Division had also lent its firepower to the Allied forces that finally drove the Germans from the key village of Cisterna after a bloody month-long battle in February 1944.
All told, the 34th Infantry Division suffered 21,362 casualties during World War II, one of the U.S. Army’s highest rates, with more than 15,000 Purple Hearts delivered to the Division. Ten unit soldiers were honored with Medals of Honor. The 34th was inactivated during November 1945, before being reconstituted within the Iowa and Nebraska National Guards about a year later. In 1963, the unit was disbanded and its place taken by the 67th Infantry Brigade, formerly a unit within the Division itself.
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