The 307th Regiment was originally formed as the 307th Infantry in the National Army and assigned to the 77th Division on 5 August 1917. Besides earning credit for taking part in four campaigns during World War I, elements of the 307th spearheaded the drive that rescued the famous “Lost Battalion,” breaking through to the trapped Americans just as their supplies were almost completely exhausted. During World War II, the 307th took part in the liberation of Guam (July 1944) and the Philippines and also engaged in heavy combat in the Battle of Okinawa from late April to late June, earning the entire Regiment a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation and the 1st Battalion a Presidential Unit Citation.
In May 1959, the 307th Infantry was recognized as a parent regiment in the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) and comprised the 1st Battle Group, an element of the 77th Division; a 1963 reorganization changed its makeup to the 1st and 2nd Battalions that were still elements of the 77th. The two Battalions were subsequently inactivated in December 1965 and relieved from assignment to the 77th Infantry Division, and in October 1999 it was withdrawn from the CARS and redesignated a non-branch Regiment made up of three Battalions that were elements of the 87th Division (Training Support). These Battalions were relieved from assignment to the 87th Division in 2009; as of Spring 2023, the 1st Battalion is a subordinate unit serving as a Training Support Battalion in the 174th Infantry Brigade; the 2nd Battalion is inactive after having served as a subordinate unit of the 157th Infantry Brigade.
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The 307th Infantry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), sometimes mistakenly called a unit crest, was originally approved in 1924 and is a tribute to the Regiment’s World War I combat service. A mailed gauntlet clutching an oak branch represents the Regiment’s advance through the Argonne Forest, and the broken diagonal chain symbolizes the breakthrough to relieve the Lost Battalion. And "Clear The Way," the unit motto, reflects the key role the Regiment played in breaking through the German attackers surrounding the beleaguered Americans.
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."