The 144th Infantry Regiment was formed when six companies of volunteer militia in the Texas State Guard—the Lamar Rifles (Dallas), Fannin Light Guards (Bonhams), Frontier Rifles (Henrietta), Gate City Guard (Denison), Johnson Country Guard (Cleburne), and the famed Queen City Guards (Dallas—consolidated to become the 4th Texas Infantry (and form the basis of the nickname, “Fourth Texas”). Following border patrol duty in the Big Bend region of Texas in 1916, the Regiment was called to Federal Service and consolidated with units from the 6th Texas Infantry to constitute the 144th Infantry Regiment. Assigned to the 72nd Infantry Brigade, 36th Division, the Regiment’s most notable action took place during the Meuse-Argonne offensive near the end of the wary.
During World War II, the 144th became a separate regiment due to Army restructuring and wound up stationed at Atlantic Beach in Florida, where it initially performed coastal patrol and later trained personnel and also provided replacement troops for nearly 50 different Army divisions. After World War II, the Regiment was reactivated by Battalion; today, the only active Battalion is the 3rd, which is one of two Infantry Battalions in the 56th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, part of the 36th Infantry Division in the Texas Army National Guard.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
The 1144th Infantry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), or unit crest, is an exact replica of its coat of arms. A wavy, diagonally oriented line bounded by borders evocative of Southwestern architecture may allude to the Regiment’s service along the Mexican border, but this is uncertain. The unit motto, "PAR ONERI," is Latin for "Up to the Task."
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."