Originally approved for the 77th Field Artillery Regiment on 10 December 1929, this Distinctive Unit Insignia was redesignated for the 634th Field Artillery Battalion on 28 July 1944, then redesignated again for the 77th Artillery Regiment on 16 December 1958. It was redesignated for the 77th Field Artillery Regiment a second time on 1 September 1971, with amendments to update and clarify the descriptive text and symbolism added on 12 August 1985.
The 77th Field Artillery Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia, or unit crest, features a shield with a red background denoting the unit as part of the Artillery branch; the yellow, dovetailed chief (topmost portion) symbolizes the formation of the unit from the Cavalry branch. A cactus in the chief denotes the unit’s service along the Mexican border, and five fleur-de-lis in the scarlet field stand for five major engagements the unit took part in during World War I in France. “En Garde” is the commonly used French expression meaning “On Guard.”
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.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
The 77th Field Artillery Regiment was originally a Cavalry unit—the 19th Cavalry, to be exact—that was constituted on 1 July 1916 in the Regular Army. Organized between May and June of 1917 and activated November 1917, the unit was redesignated as the 77th Field Artillery 19 November 1917 and assigned to the 4th Division. Fighting with the Ivy Division, the Regiment took part in five campaigns in World War I before returning stateside and being inactivated in September 1921.
It would be reactivated between 1 January (1st Battalion) and 1 November (remaining units) 1935 and relieved from assignment to the 4th Division in October 1939. In 1944, the Regiment was broken up and its Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB) redesignated as HHB, 77th Field Artillery Group and its two battalions redesignated with new numbers and titles; they would be reunited in 1958 to form the 77th Artillery, a parent regiment in the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS). During World War II, the units in the 77th’s lineage fought in ten World War II campaigns, with two of those campaign streamers including Arrowhead devices for assault-landing credits.
During the Vietnam War, the 77th Artillery was credited with action in fifteen of the war’s seventeen campaigns and was awarded two Presidential Unit Citations and two Valorous Unit Awards (this doesn’t include honors for individual battalions or companies). Withdrawn from CARS in 1986 and reorganized in the U.S. Army Regimental System, the Regiment was redesignated as the 77th Field Artillery Regiment in 2005. In the War on Terrorism, the Regiment as a whole has not received any military decorations, but both its 1st and 2nd Battalions have earned Meritorious Unit Commendations.
As of Summer 2023, the Regiment’s 1st Battalion is assigned to the 41st Field Artillery Brigade and is headquartered in Grafenwoehr, Germany. The 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment is assigned to the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division and is based at Fort Carson, Colorado.