Also known as a unit crest or DUI, a 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 (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.
Enlisted personnel wear the insignia centered on a shoulder loop by placing it an equal distance from the outside shoulder seam to the outside edge of the shoulder-loop button. Officers (except Generals) wearing grade insignia on the shoulder loops center the DUI by placing it an equal distance between the inside edge of the grade insignia and the outside edge of the button.
Full 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.
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The 72nd Armor Regiment's Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved on 8 January 1952. A dragon—a strong, fierce creature covered with plates of invulnerable mail—is used in heraldry to symbolize the defeat of an enemy. A Fleur-de-lis charged on the dragon’s wing denotes service in Europe, while three roundels represent Korean War campaigns.
Nicknamed “Crusaders,” the 72nd Armor Regiment saw combat action in two campaigns—Rhineland and Central Europe—that took place near the end of the World War II. For the Korean War, on the other hand, the Regiment was present and active in all ten of that War’s named campaigns.
Both the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 72nd Armor Regiment were stationed in Korea to serve as a deterrent to further North Korean aggression, but in 2005 the 2nd Battalion was inactivated. This was followed ten years later by the July 2015 inactivation of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Divison and all its subordinate units, including the 1st Battalion, 72nd Armor Regiment.