Commonly referred to as a “unit crest” or by the initialism DUI, the Distinctive Unit Insignia of the 161st Infantry Regiment was originally approved on 9 October 1926. Its shield is divided roughly in half by a bend (diagonal band) colored red and embattled on the upper side: the colors are those of the Philippine flag, and the embattlements denote that the units engaged in actual combat during the Philippine Insurrection.
The shield’s white background commemorates not only the unit’s status as an Infantry organization, but also its longevity: white has not been the color of that branch since 1903. A scorpion in the lower left represents the unit’s service along the Mexican border in 1916. In the upper right, the fleur-de-lis has rays emanating from it to denote that while the unit was broken up during World War I, its troops were highly effective in their roles as replacements in front-line units.
The crest is that of George Washington, namesake of the unit’s home territory and later U.S. state, and the unit motto—“First In War, First In Peace”—is part of a quotation by Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee describing America’s first president (the sentence concludes, “First in the hearts of his countrymen.”).
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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Bearing the official Special Designation of “First Washington,” the 161st Infantry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia was organized from existing companies in the Washington Territorial Militia on 9 March 1887. It would eventually become the 1st and 2nd Infantry Battalions before the start of the Philippine Insurrection, with ten of their companies called into service in May 1898 and two other companies called July 1898 and earning the Regiment two campaign credits before the end of the century.
Mustered into Federal service as the 2nd Infantry Regiment, Washington National Guard for Mexican Border duty in 1916, the unit would be drafted in 1917 as the U.S. began assembling the American Expeditionary Force for World war I. Between 10 September and 20 October 1917, the 2nd Infantry Regiment was consolidated with elements of the 3rd Infantry Regiment of the District of Columbia National Guard to create the 161st Infantry. Assigned to the 41st Division, the 161st Infantry would deploy to France but would not fight together as a regiment (see “fleur-de-lis” above), garnering an uninscribed World War I streamer in recognition of its contribution to American and Allied victory.
Inducted into Federal service as the 161st Infantry in September 1940, the Regiment was subsequently relieved from assignment to the 41st Infantry Division and reassigned to the 25th Infantry Division for service in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of World War II, where it fought in three campaigns (Guadalcanal, Northern Solomons, Luzon). Inactivated in November 1945 and relieved from assignment to the 25th Infantry Division, it was reassigned to the 41st Infantry Division in June 1946, an affiliation it would maintain for the next twenty-two years until it was reorganized to consist of three battalions (1st, 2nd, 3rd), elements of the 81st Infantry Brigade (today known as the 81st Brigade Combat Team, or BCT).
It would be reorganized four more times after that, and is currently organized to comprise two battalions, the 1st and 3rd, that are elements of the 81st BCT. Since the launch of the War on Terrorism, the Regiment has been awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation for each of its two campaigns to Iraq, the first in Baghdad 2004 and the second in Balad in 2008.
As of Autumn 2023, the 1st Battalion, 161st Infantry Regiment is headquartered in Spokane, Washington and the 3rd Battalion, 161st Infantry is headquartered Kent, Washington.