Also known as a unit crest or DUI, the Distinctive Unit Insignia is 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."
The 35th Infantry Division unit crest pays homage to the Division's Midwestern origins with the image of an oxen-drawn prairie schooner, symbolizing the fact that all of the famous trails that pioneers used to journey westward—the Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail, California Trail, etc.—either originated in or passed through the states to which the 35th was at one time allotted. In its original incarnation as the 35th Division in the National Guard, for example, it was made up of troops from Kansas and Missouri.
A nonagon (a polygon with nine sides and nine angles) in blue forms the frame for this imagery. Blue is the color of infantry and, according to The Institute of Heraldry, a nonagon was chosen to reflect the fact that the “35th Division was originally organized as an infantry division composed of nine regiments.” However, numerous sources seem to indicate only eight regiments in the original division’s composition: four Infantry regiments (137th, 138th, 139th, and 140th), three Artillery regiments (128th, 129th, 130th), and an Engineer Regiment. Other units in the original formation all share the 110th numerical designation and include a Trench Mortar Battery, a Field Signal Battalion, a Train HQ and Military Police, Supply Train, Ammunition Train, and a Sanitary Train consisting for Ambulance Companies and Field Hospitals.
According to T
he History of the A.E.F. by Captain Shipley Thomas (published in 1920), the 35th Division departed for France (via Liverpool and West Winchester in England) on 25 April 1918 and arrived in France on May 11th. Over the course of the following year, the Division suffered 7,854 battle casualties, with 960 killed. In the process of earning official credit for participation in three campaigns, the Division captured over 780 prisoners, two dozen artillery pieces, 85 machine guns, and advanced seven-and-a-half miles while facing resistance—an impressive feat considering how much blood could be spilled for advances measured in just a few yards during World War I.
Related Items
35th Infantry Division Patch (SSI)
35th Division Combat Service ID Badge (CSIB)