The 142nd Field Artillery Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia—called a unit crest or DUI by most Soldiers—was originally approved on 9 March 1972 for the 142nd Artillery and was redesignated for the 142nd Field Artillery Regiment on 28 August 1972. Its scarlet and yellow tones are the colors of Artillery, and the black discs, or gunstones, are symbolic of missiles. A scarlet fleur-de-lis on a yellow diamond commemorates the Regiment’s service in World War I France. The scarlet pile (downward-pointing triangle) mimics an arrowhead, a reference to the unit’s assault landing in Southern France during World War II; the half-dozen gunstones represent the Regiment’s participation in six other campaigns in the European Theater.
The yellow diamond (“lozenge” in heraldry) is intended to recall the shape of a diamond and is inspired by the lozenge found on the state flag of Arkansas, acknowledging the Regiment’s origins in what today is known as the Arkansas Army National Guard. “Try To Stop Us” is not a boast, but rather an expression of confidence that nothing can keep the Regiment from achieving its mission objectives.
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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Officially designated as the “Second Arkansas,” the 142nd Field Artillery Regiment is organized in the United States Army Regimental System to consist of the 1st and 2nd Battalions in the Arkansas Army National Guard; as of January 2020, both are assigned to the 142nd Field Artillery Brigade. Its origins go back to the organization of the 2nd Regiment of Infantry in the Arkansas State Guard between 1893 and 1892. The 2nd Regiment was mustered into Federal Service twice but was not deployed until after it was drafted for World War I service on 5 August 1917 and was converted and reorganized as the 142nd Field Artillery. Assigned to the 39th Division, the Regiment’s personnel were trained as replacement for other frontline units, and the unit was awarded an uninscribed World War I streamer for its contribution to victory.
During World War II, the 142nd Field Artillery’s HQ and 1st Battalion was reorganized and redesignated as the 936th Field Artillery Battalion and its 2nd Battalion was redesignated as the 937th Field Artillery Battalion; the remainder of the Regiment began separate lineages from this point forward, and the two Battalions would eventually be consolidated in 1959 to reform the 142nd Field Artillery under the designation 142nd Artillery in the Combat Arms Regimental System. Prior to that reunion, the two Battalions earned the Regiment credit for participation in seven War II campaigns, the same number of campaigns the Battalions fought in during the Korean War. In Korea, the Regiment’s 2nd Battalion HQ and Battery C earned a Presidential Unit Citation Korean War and a Republic of Korea Presidential Unit citation.
By the time the Regiment was deployed in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm—it earned all three campaign streamers for the Southwest Asia conflict—it had been reorganized and redesignated in the U.S. Army Regimental System as the 142nd Field Artillery consisting of two battalions. Although elements of the two battalions have been deployed in support of the War on Terrorism, their campaign participation credits are yet to be determined.