The Shoulder Sleeve Insignia worn by members of the Missouri Army National Guard (ARNG) assigned to the state’s National Guard Joint Force Headquarters (HQ) was originally approved for HQ and HQ Detachment, Missouri National Guard. It was redesignated on 30 December 1983 for the HQ, State Area Command, Missouri ARNG and then on 1 October 2003 for the Missouri ARNG Element, Joint Force HQ, the latter time with an updated description.
According to The Institute of Heraldry’s description of the insignia, the deep red shield featuring an upright bear standing on a twisted wreath of yellow and blue invokes the state’s reputation as an area in which grizzly bears are indigenous—images of them have been used on the State Seal since 1822—and the territory’s former history as a French possession that was acquired by the U.S. as part of the Louisiana Purchase. The latter claim is true, but the former…apparently, not so much.
According to an article published in July 2021 in the
Columbia Daily Tribune and authored by the Science Coordinator for the Public School System in Columbia, Missouri, grizzly bears never lived in Missouri: Instead, they were chosen for use on seals and insignias because they represent strength.
But what is not disputable about the Missouri Army National Guard is that two of its former members are some of the most well-known personalities from the 20th Century. Charles Lindbergh, first pilot to make a solo flight nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean, was an aviator in the 110th Observation Squadron of the Missouri National Guard. And Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States (and some say a 33rd degree Freemason), served in Battery B, 2nd Missouri Field Artillery Regiment, in which he reached the rank of Corporal; during World War I, he took part in offensives at St. Mihiel and in the Meuse-Argonne.
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Missouri ARNG Element, Joint Force HQ Unit Crest (DUI)