The 377th Field Artillery Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia—a device more commonly referred to as a “unit crest” or a DUI—was originally approved for the 377th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion on 14 November 1952. On 26 September 1951, it was redesignated for the 515th Airborne Field Artillery Battalion, and almost five years later it was redesignated for the 377th Airborne Field Artillery Battalion on 31 July 1956.
It was subsequently redesignated on 26 February 1958 for the 377th Artillery Regiment, and a U.S. Army change in branch designations led to its final redesignation to the 377th Field Artillery Battalion on 25 January 1972. A scarlet shield is used for the insignia to denote the organization is part of the Artillery branch, and an open parachute with an attached cannon symbolizes the Airborne function of the unit at the time the insignia was originally approved. FIRMITER ET FIDELITER, the unit motto, is Latin for “Steadfastly And Faithfully.”)
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. Full guidance on wear of the DUI is found in DA Pamphlet 670-1,
Section 21-22, "Distinctive unit insignia."
The 377th Field Artillery Regiment was first constituted as the 377th Field Artillery and assigned to the 101st Division (later designated as the 101st Airborne Division) on 24 June 1921. In January 1942, it became the 377th Field Artillery Battalion, and it was under this designation that it was awarded Presidential Unit Citations for action in two (Normandy and Ardennes-Alsace) of the four campaigns it fought in in the European Theater during World War II, and was also the recipient of Arrowhead devices for taking part in an assault landing in the Normandy and Rhineland campaigns.
It also received numerous foreign military decorations, including a French Croix de Guerre with Palm, World War II, a Netherlands Orange Lanyard, a Belgian Fourragere 1940 for two citations in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in France and Belgium, and a Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940.
Relieved 25 April 1957 from assignment to the 101st Airborne Division and concurrently reorganized and redesignated as the 377th Artillery, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS), the Regiment was deployed to Vietnam and fought in eight named campaigns of that conflict. It was redesignated as the 377th Field Artillery on 1 September 1971 and withdrawn from CARS to be reorganized under the U.S. Army Regimental system. On 1 October 2005, it received its current designation as the 377th Field Artillery Regiment.
Although its participation in War on Terrorism campaigns is yet to be determined, the Regiment and/or its subordinate Battalions have earned several military decorations for action beginning with the 1st Battalion in November 2005 in Iraq, which was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation in August 2007. In August 2010, the 1st Battalion was tapped for its second MUC for service while assigned to the 17th Fires Brigade between July 2009 and July 2010. The 1st Battalion was inactivated in October 2013.
Later in 2020, the HQ and HQ Battery, 2nd Battalion and two of its Batteries were honored with a Valorous Unit Award for extraordinary heroism against an armed enemy between February 2009 and February 2010, a period in which the combined units unleashed over 18,000 rounds artillery and killed a minimum of 190 enemies in fighting around Khost Province in Afghanistan. And the 2nd Battalion was selected for its own MUC in November 2013 for its support of Operation Enduring Freedom XI-XII and Regional Command-East between December 2011 and October 2012.
2nd Battalion, 377th Field Artillery Regiment is assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Related Items
377th Field Artillery Regiment Airborne Background Trimming (Oval)