Reflagged as the 551st Signal Battalion and then deactivated in the Summer of 2015, the 447th Signal Battalion was originally constituted 10 August 1942 in the Army of the United States as the 447th Signal Construction Battalion and activated on 29 August 1942 at Dale Mabry Field, Florida. It was reorganized and redesignated as the 447th Signal Heavy Construction Battalion on 5 October 1944, and before its eventual inactivation in late October 1945 it would take part in four campaigns in the European Theater during World War II.
Following a redesignation in December 1954 as the 447th Signal Battalion and being allotted to the Regular Army, the unit was activated in Germany in January 1955. After on-again/off-again activations for a dozen years, the unit was finally inactivated on 13 November 1967 in Germany and remained so until it was transferred to the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and activated at Fort Gordon, Georgia (now known as Fort Eisenhower), where it carried out a Training mission until its ultimate deactivation in 2015.
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The 447th Signal Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia, also called a unit crest or a DUI, was approved on 9 June 1955. Its orange and white tones are the branch colors of the Signal Corps, and the four fires on the orange shield commemorate the four battle honors earned in World War II in Europe. SIGNA VICTORIAE, the unit motto, is Latin for “Signals For Victory.”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.
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.