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. The 914th Combat Support Hospital Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved on 14 February 1945. It features white (silver) text on a maroon scroll to incorporate the two colors associated with the Medical Corps, while the blazing torch on the insignia symbolizes both knowledge and leadership, reflecting the mission of the Army Reserve. Devotion to duty is denoted by the color of the blue star in the center of the insignia, while its five points reflect the fact that the unit took part in five campaigns in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
The scarlet sea lion, found on many seals and flags associated with the government of the Philippines, is used here to recall the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation the Hospital was awarded for its support in the country’s liberation, and the silver cross upon which it is located underscores the Hospital’s primary mission of providing aid and assistance. “Serving The Brave” is the Hospital motto.
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 as the 54th Portable Surgical Hospital on 23 July 1943 in the Army of the United States, the 914th Combat Support Hospital served under that first designation in the New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, Western Pacific, Leyte, and Luzon campaigns in the Pacific Theater, garnering a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for its outstanding service in the last two of those campaigns.
Inactivated in February 1946, the unit was redesignated as the 914th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital on 5 October 1948 and allotted to the Organized Reserve Corps (later redesignated as the Army Reserve) on 19 October 1948. It would be inactivated shortly thereafter on 1 February 1951 and would remain so until its redesignation as the 914th Combat Support Hospital and activation on 17 September 1993.
Note: This unit is no longer active. It has been inactivated, deactivated, redesignated, or consolidated with another unit and given a new designation.