The 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI) was originally approved for the 55th Artillery Regiment on 13 April 1922 and was redesignated several times to accommodate the unit’s status; the last time was on 14 January 1972. VIGILANTIA, the unit motto, translate as “Vigilance,” and was taken from the “Old First” Regiment of Massachusetts, which supplied one of the companies to form the Regiment. The unit saw heavy action during World War I where it was armed with 155mm guns and Caterpillars, both symbolized in the design of the insignia.
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.
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The 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment’s history begins with the constitution in the Regular Army of the 55th Artillery (Coast Artillery Corps) on 1 December 1917. It fought in four campaigns during World War I before its National Guard components were demobilized, leaving the remainder of the Regiment active and a 3rd Battalion activated in Hawaii, home of the Regiment until it was disbanded in 1944. The Regiment’s World War II battle honors includes eight campaigns, five in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater and three in the Asiatic-Pacific; its history also includes a Presidential Unit Citation that was awarded to the 66th Armored Field Battalion while serving under the 4th Armored Division during the Battle of the Bulge.
During the late 1950s and up until the mid-1960s, the Regiment’s battalions were stationed at ARADCOM sites around the country and in Greenland, with the 1st Battalion at Fort Totten (New York), 2nd Battalion at Hartford, 3rd Battalion at Fort Wayne, and the 4th Battalion at Thule Air Force Base.
It is unclear when the Regiment's last active unit was inactivated. Stationed at Fort Polk in the 1989s, its 1st Battalion (1-55th ADA Regiment) was assigned to the 5th Infantry Division, U.S. Army III Corps that was part of NATO'S Northern Army Group. Meanwhile, the HQ Battery, 2nd Battalion, 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment was stationed at Fort Bliss in the 1980s.
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