More commonly referred to as a “unit crest” or a DUI, the Distinctive Unit Insignia of the 718th Transportation Battalion was approved on 20 October 1960. The shield portion of the insignia is divided into lower and upper halves respectively colored brick red and golden yellow—the primary and secondary branch colors of the Transportation Corps. The division also highlights the dual function of Transportation Corps units: Supply and Service.
The image of a diesel locomotive is an allusion to the unit’s mission of railway operation. Above it, a Lorraine Cross is an allusion to World War I service in that region of France. Four torteaux that symbolize railroad signal lights memorializes the four battle honors (campaign credits) and a Meritorious Unit Commendation the Battalion earned in World War II. SERVITIUM OMNIA VINCIT, the unit motto, is Latin for “Service Conquers All.”
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."
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The 718th Transportation Battalion was originally constituted in the National Army as the 53rd Engineers on 15 August 1917, but it was organized in February 1918 at Camp Dix, New Jersey
as the 53rd Engineers Railway Operation Battalion. It would be redesignated as the 53rd Regiment, Transportation Corps in September 1918, and following the war was awarded an uninscribed World War I Victory streamer reflecting its use as a source of replacement troops for frontline units.
By the time the unit was ordered into active military service again, it had been converted and redesignated as the 718th Railway Operating Battalion on 16 November 1942. It would take part in four campaigns in Europe (Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe) and be awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation inscribed “European Theater” (rather than for a specific battle or location). Redesignated on 12 October 1948 as the 718th Transportation Railway Operating Battalion, it was concurrently withdrawn from the Regular Army and allotted to the Organized Reserve Corps.
The unit would was designated the 718th Transportation Battalion on 13 February 1959 and was activated two months later. On 7 January 1963, its HQ and HQ Company was reorganized redesignated as HQ and HQ Detachment (HHD), 718th Transportation Battalion, with the remainder of the Battalion disbanded eight days later. Nearly forty-eight years later, the HHD, 718th Transportation Battalion was ordered in to active military service for a ten-month deployment for which it would later be tapped for a Meritorious Unit Commendation.
As of July 2021, the 718th Transportation remains allotted to the Army Reserve. Headquartered at Columbus, Ohio, it is assigned to the 643rd Regional Support Group, 310th Sustainment Command, a major subordinate command of the 377th Theater Sustainment Command.