The 143rd Infantry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia (also called a unit crest or DUI) was originally approved on 17 April 1929. A wavy, white bend symbolizes the Rio Grande River and recalls the Regiment’s service along the Mexican border in 1916; it also represents the Aisne River in France along which the Regiment fought in World War I. An oak tree in the upper right specifically recalls the Meuse-Argonne campaign in which the unit fought as part of the 72nd Infantry Brigade, 36th Division, while the gold key is taken from the Army of Cuban Occupation medal to denote service in the Spanish-American War. “Arms Secure Peace” is the Regimental motto.
Officially nicknamed “Third Texas” in reference to the unit’s designation as the 3rd Regiment of Infantry, Texas Volunteer Guard when it was first mustered into Federal service in July 1898, the 143rd Infantry Regiment is a parent regiment under the United States Army Regimental System that was most recently reorganized in the Texas, Alaska, and Rhode Island Army National Guard to consist of the 1st Battalion. It is the nation’s first and only Airborne Infantry Battalion in the National Guard.
Distinctive Unit Insignias are 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.
Full guidance on wear of the DUI is found in DA Pamphlet 670-1,
Section 21-22, "Distinctive unit insignia."♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Since World War I, its ancestor units have been organized at various time as element(s) of the 36th Infantry Division and briefly (three years) of the 71st Airborne Brigade, during which time it comprised three battalions; it consisted of a single Company (Company C) from April 1980 to its temporary disbandment in September 2002. Since 2016, the 1st Battalion has been associated with the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team as part of the Army’s Associated Unit Pilot Program, but in the Texas Army National Guard its Headquarters and Headquarters Company is assigned to the 71st Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade, 36th Infantry Division.
The Third Texas was originally organized as Lieutenant Colonel John H. Moore’s Volunteer Ranging Battalion in the Robertson Colony in Texas (then part of Mexico) on 31 July 1835. Its battle honors include campaign streamers for the War With Mexico (1), the Civil War (five as a Confederate unit), World War I (Meuse-Argonne campaign), World War II (seven, with two sporting Arrowhead devices for participation in assault landings), and the War on Terrorism (number yet to be determined). During World War II, units in the Regiment’s lineage were awarded an astonishing five Presidential Unit Citations, as well as a French Croix de Guerre with Palm.
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