U.S. ARMY 44TH ENGINEER BATTALION UNIT CREST (DUI)

The 44th Engineer Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia, also called a unit crest or DUI, was approved on 6 November 1951. A diagonally oriented railroad track serves as a heraldic bend that recalls the parent unit, the 47th Engineer Railway Maintenance-of-Way Battalion, and symbolizes one of the Engineer Corps' duties. The vertical band is a pale, symbolizing support and strength and here simulating a road, landing strip, bridge, and other structures that are fundamental to the Engineers’ job. A fleur-de-lis in the upper right is for service in France; the palm tree in lower left is for World War II Pacific service. The broken heart recalls the unit’s service in Korea, where the image was used an identification mark for the Battalion’s materiel (the 44th Engineers Battalion Alumni Web site has an endearing account of how this came to be).

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. 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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Originally constituted in 1917 as a Railway Maintenance unit (see above), the 44th Engineer Battalion’s history involves the breakup of not one but two regiments—one in November 1918, the other in April 1944—and several redesignations and consolidations. The unit was designated as the 47th Regiment, Transportation Corps during World War I and earned a World War I streamer (without a specific campaign or battle inscription).

The unit entered World War II designated as 47th Engineer General Service Regiment, but was broken up with only its 2nd Battalion carrying on the lineage as the 1397th Engineer Construction Battalion; it participated in the Central Pacific, Western Pacific, and Ryukyus campaigns and was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation. In Korea, the unit was designated the 44th Engineer Construction Battalion and fought in nine campaigns, earning three Meritorious Unit Commendations and three Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citations.

Its last redesignation came in 1954 as the 44th Engineer Battalion, and it was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division in 1992 after having earned the Army Superior Unit Award for service between January and December 1987. On 7 December 2005, the “Builders of Freedom” battalion was inactivated.

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U.S. ARMY 44TH ENGINEER BATTALION UNIT CREST (DUI)