The 354th Regiment was originally constituted on 5 August 1917 as the 354th Infantry, a Regiment in the National Army, and assigned to the 89th Division (which became the 89th Infantry Division in 1942). During World War I, it was paired with the 353rd Regiment to form the 177th Infantry Brigade, 89th Division and fought in three campaigns—St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne, and Lorraine 1918—before returning to Camp Funston, Kansas for demobilization.
On 24 June 1921, the unit was reconstituted in the Organized Reserves with the same designation and was once again assigned to the 89th Division. It was ordered into active military service in July 1942 and fought in the Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns before returning to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, where it was inactivated on Christmas Day, 1945. Less than a year later, it was activated in the Organized Reserves (which became the Army Reserve in July 1952) and in October 1959 it was reorganized and redesignated as the 354th Regiment, an element of the 89th Division (Training).
Following a reorganization in January 1968 that gave the Regiment three Battalions, all elements of the 89th Division, those Battalions were subsequently inactivated and relieved from assignment to the 89th Division in March 1975, ending the Regiment’s nearly 60-year relationship with the Division. In October 1996, the Regiment was reorganized to comprise the 1st and 2nd Battalions, elements of the 95th Division (Institutional Training); the 3rd Battalion was added in September 2008. As of Autumn 2023, the Regiment’s Battalions have been assigned to Training Divisions of the 108th Training Command. One provides Training Support for 1st Headquarters Brigade, 104th Training Division, while the remaining two are tasked with Basic Combat Training for 1st Headquarters Brigade, 95th Training Division.
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The 354th Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia, commonly called a “unit crest” or a DUI, was authorized for this unit on 24 January 1962, but was subsequently amended to change the description and add symbolism on 16 February 1996. It had previously been approved for the 35th Infantry Regiment from 26 February 1929 until the 1962 authorization for the unit’s current designation.
A blue shield denotes the Regiment’s Infantry heritage (blue is the Infantry branch color). The red bend is taken from the coat of arms of Lorraine, while the eagle’s head “erased” (a heraldic term to describe an animal’s head that appears to have been ripped from the body) and with a black collar charged with a gold cross of Lorraine is from the supporters of the arms of St. Mihiel. The gold oak tree is for the Meuse-Argonne campaign. Not seen on the unit crest is the unit motto “Wright Wood Winn,” signifying firstly the names of the Regiment’s Division Commanders; secondly, the homophonic phrase “Right Would Win;” and lastly perpetuation of the motto adopted in 1918-19.
You can find
guidance on wear of the DUI in DA Pamphlet 670-1, Section 21-22, "Distinctive unit insignia" and 21–3(d) and (e), "Beret" and "Garrison Cap," respectively.