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.
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Approved on 25 January 1941, the 106th Medical Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia is crafted exclusively in maroon and white, the two branch colors of the Army Medical Department. A cross within the shield is a traditional symbol of aid and comfort and typifies the humanitarian efforts of the organization, as well as its adherence to Red Cross standards incorporated at the Geneva Convention. “Service Supreme” is the Battalion motto.
Established before World War I, the Louisiana National Guard Field Hospital Number 1 was the progenitor of the 106th Medical Battalion, although the unit was later made a component of the Mississippi Army National Guard. Redesignated as the 116th Hospital company during the 1920s, it was expanded to a regiment just before World War II, then reorganized into the 106th Medical Battalion in 1942. As an organic component of the 31st Infantry Division, the Battalion deployed to Oro Bay, New Guinea in 1944.
During the Battle of Morotai Island, the 106th Medical Battalion operated the lone combat hospital in the operation, and heavy fighting meant the hospital averaged between 500 and 700 patients per day. The unit received a Presidential Unit Citation for its extraordinary efforts during the action on Morotai, and on a per capita basis the Battalion received more awards for heroism and gallantry in action than any other branch of service represented in the Division.
The 106th Medical Battalion was inactivated in 1968.