Also known as unit crests, Distinctive Unit Insignias (DUIs) are worn by all Soldiers (except General Officers) in units that have been
authorized to be issued the device. For Enlisted personnel, the insignia is centered on a shoulder loop by placing it an equal distance from the outside shoulder seam to the outside edge of the shoulder-loop button. Officers (except Generals) wearing grade insignia on the shoulder loops center the DUI by placing it an equal distance between the inside edge of the grade insignia and the outside edge of the button.
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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The 6th Infantry Division Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved on 13 February 1968. A six-sided star in the center is taken from the Division’s Shoulder Sleeve Insignia, but is rendered in Infantry blue instead of the red used on the SSI. A Fleur-de-lis in the center of the star represents the Division’s service in France during World War I, while two crossed arrows under the star stand for the Arrowhead devices the Division was awarded for two assault landings in the Pacific Theater during World War II, including the Luzon landings that ultimately led to the liberation of the Philippines.
Though activated during the Korean War, the 6th Infantry did not deploy during that conflict and was subsequently inactivated from 1956 until 1967, when it was reactivated with a strong likelihood of being deployed to Vietnam. But the decision was made to inactivate the Division in 1968, and though activated one final time from 1986 to 1994, it did not see combat again before its final inactivation in 1994.
For its role in clearing the Japanese from the islands, the Division was honored with a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, symbolized by the sun that serves as a backdrop for the insignia; the six points and six rays of the sun are also a reference to the unit’s numerical designation. “On The Line,” a motto that describes the 6th Infantry Division's active combat service in both World Wars, is emblazoned at the base of the insignia.Related Items
6th Infantry Division Patch (SSI)