The 144th Field Artillery Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), commonly referred to as a unit crest, was originally approved for the 144th Field Artillery Regiment on 30 January 1942. It would go on to be redesignated for the 981st Field Artillery Battalion on 10 January 1951, the 225th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, California National Guard on 3 December 1954, and for the 144th Artillery Regiment, California National Guard on 16 February 1961. Its last redesignation was for the unit’s current designation and came on 28 August 1972.
A shield divided into red and yellow—red for Artillery, yellow for the color used for Artillery guidon markings—reflects the organization’s long affiliation with the Artillery branch. The two charges, a yellow bear and a fleur-de-lis, are countercharged (a yellow bear on red background, red fleur-de-lis on yellow background), with the bear an allusion to the unit’s nickname and the fleur-de-lis an emblem of wartime service in France. CONTENDIMUS, the Regimental motto, is Latin for “We Strive.”
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. More 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 144th Field Artillery Regiment was originally organized as Battery C, 2nd Field Artillery Regiment on 3 August 1917 in the California National Guard, but was reorganized and redesignated with the same title but as an element of the 40th Division on 24 September 1917. Deployed to France, it was awarded an uninscribed World War I streamer for serving as source for replacement troops on the front lines. By the time it was inducted in Federal service for World War II on 3 February 1941, it had been reorganized and redesignated as the 144th Field Artillery, but the regiment was broken up 8 February 1943; its Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB) became the HHB, 144th Field Artillery Group, and the 1st and 2nd Battalions became 980th and 981st Field Artillery Battalions.
These units and others in the Regiment’s lineage (some through annexation) fought in five campaigns in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater (Battery C, 1st Battalion was also credited with three Asiatic-Pacific campaigns and was awarded an Arrowhead device for taking part in an assault landing during the Luzon campaign). They would also participated in four Korean War campaigns and earn the Regiment a Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.
In 1959, some of the Regiment’s former elements were consolidated with three Armored Field Artillery Battalions to create the 144th Artillery, a parent regiment in the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) whose four battalions were all elements of the 40th Armored Division. The Regimen was reorganized four times before it was withdrawn from CARS in January 1988 and reorganized under the U.S. Army Regimental System, and in 1993 it was reorganized to consist of three battalions and two batteries, all elements of the 40th Infantry Division.
In 1997, the 2nd and 3rd Howitzer Battalions were consolidated to form the 1st Battalion; it is the only active Battalion representing the 144th Field Artillery as of Autumn 2023. Although the 1st Battalion has not earned any campaign participation credits or military decorations for the War on Terrorism, it received an Army Superior Unit Award for service with the 141st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade between 14 November 2009 and 24 July 2010. It has also been quite busy assisting in combating the wildfires that have plagued California since 2018.