U.S. ARMY 547TH ENGINEER BATTALION UNIT CREST (DUI)

Commonly called a "unit crest," the Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI) of the 547th Engineer Battalion was approved for wear on 12 May 1950. Red and white are used exclusively for the palette of the design, reflecting the fact that the Battalion was an organization in the Army Corps of Engineers: red and white are the branch colors of the Engineers. “Bridge Builders,” the unit motto displayed on a scroll attached to the bottom of the shield-shaped insignia, had actually started out as a nickname due to the numerous floating-bridge exercises and monthly river crossings the Battalion could perform because of its garrison along the Rhine River. Just two months after the insignia and its motto were approved, the Battalion bridged the Rhine with the M-4 in just eight hours—half the time the Battalion had required two years earlier and a speed that many experts in this field of construction considered almost unsurpassable.

While The Institute of Heraldry states the Battalion’s sole European campaign was in Central Europe, but according to Pamphlet 672-1, “Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register,” the Battalion actually served in the Rhineland campaign. In any event, the red fess that is sprinkled with fleurs-de-lis—a pattern called “fess semée-de-lis” in heraldry—is to memorialize that campaign, after which the unit was inactivated before being assigned to European command sent to join U.S. Army Europe in 1947.

The Battalion served in Germany until its inactivation in 1991.

Customers and visitors who would like to read a more in-depth account of the 547th Engineer Battalion’s decades-long garrison assignment in Germany can click here to visit the outstanding “U.S. Army In Germany” Web site.

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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. Current regulations do not permit the DUI to be worn on the Dress variations of either uniform, however.

More 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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U.S. ARMY 547TH ENGINEER BATTALION UNIT CREST (DUI)