Approved 16 June 1927, the 127th Infantry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia (also known as a unit crest or DUI) highlights the unit’s origins and its military achievements up to that point in time. Blue and silver are used predominantly in the insignia; blue is for Infantry while silver denotes that the Regiment is numerically to the 128th Infantry in the 64th Infantry Brigade, both units’ parent organization while assigned to the 32nd Division in World War II.
Three fountains symbolize three regiment in the Wisconsin National Guard that were combined and from which organizations were drawn to form the 127th Infantry; they also signify that the unit had been called into Federal service three times (Spanish-American War, Mexican border duty, World War I). The red arrow is the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia (SSI) of the 32nd Division (now Infantry Division); the rainbow is the SSI of the 42nd Division. “Les Terribles” was the nickname given to the unit during World War I.
Full 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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The 127th Infantry Regiment was originally constituted between April and May 1861 from existing independent Infantry companies as the 1st and 2nd Regiments, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. Between them, the two units would fight in an astonishing sixteen Civil War campaigns spanning the length of the entire war, from Bull Run to the siege of Petersburg. Both Regiments would also take part in the War With Spain, fighting in the Puerto Rico campaign before mustering out of Federal service in November 1898. After being drafted into Federal service in September 1917, the Regiments were consolidated, reorganized, and redesignated as the 127th Infantry. Assigned to the 32nd Infantry, the Regiment was credited with action in five World War I campaigns, and its service was honored with a French Croix de Guerre with Palm. (The Regiment’s HQ Company was credited with taking part in three additional campaigns).
During World War II, the Regiment was again assigned to the 32nd Division (now an Infantry Division) and deployed to the Pacific theater. It would participate in four campaigns (Company A, 2nd Battalion is individually credited with participation in two more campaigns) and be awarded a Presidential Unit Citation and a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation; two companies from the 2nd Battalion, HQ and C, were awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for Leyte, while the Battalion’s A Company received a Meritorious Unit Commendation for the New Guinea campaign.
The Regiment would not be deployed to a combat zone again until the start of the War On Terrorism and underwent several organizational changes during that time. It was reorganized 15 February 1959 as a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) to consist of the 1st, 2d, and 3d Battle Groups, elements of the 32d Infantry Division (reorganized in 1963 to consist of three Battalions instead of Battle Groups). Withdrawn from CARS on 1 February 1987, it was redesignated 1 October 2005 as the 127th Infantry Regiment, and in 2008 it was reorganized to consist solely of the 2nd Battalion, an element of the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the current version of the Regiment’s old parent organization the 32nd Infantry Division.
The Regiment (represented by the 2nd Battalion) was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation for service between 2005-2006 (it carried out over 4100 combat missions between 28 August 2005 through 19 May 2006), and again for service in Iraq between 2009 to January 2010. Its most recent deployment was in 2019, when the 2nd Battalion became the first component of the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team to deploy to Afghanistan. As of Summer 2023, the 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry Regiment (2-127 INF) remains assigned to the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team.