Approved on 31 January 1969, the 79th Ordnance Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia, also known as a unit crest or a DUI, uses a fleur-de-lis attached a roundel to simulate the “shell and flame” seen on the Ordnance Corps branch insignia. Lightning flashes emerging from the “flame” (fleur-de-lis) are an allusion to the mission of Explosive Ordnance Disposal units and the hazards of defusing unexploded bombs and other ordnance.
Scarlet and blue used throughout the insignia recalls the colors in the Korean taeguk (similar to the Chinese yin-yang symbol) and references the unit’s participation in the Korean War (eight campaigns in all). The fleur-de-lis refers to the unit’s service in France during World War II. The unit motto of “Efficient And Effective” denotes two of the most highly sought-after qualities in an Ordnance unit.
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The 79th Ordnance Battalion was originally constituted as the 228th Ordnance Base Group in the Army of the United States on 29 May 1943. Activated on 5 August 1943, the Group went on to take part in three World War II campaigns in Europe and was reorganized and redesignated as the 228th Ordnance Base Depot in January 1945. Prior to the start of the Korean War, it was again reorganized and redesignated as the 79th Ordnance Battalion on 23 February 1950. It fought in eight of the Korean War’s ten campaigns, earning a Meritorious Unit Commendation and a Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation before being inactivated on 1 April 1954.
During the Vietnam War, the unit was first deployed as the 79th Ordnance Battalion, but was redesignated as the 79th Maintenance Battalion in July 1966. The Battalion took part in an astonishing sixteen of the war’s seventeen campaigns, and its superior service was recognized with three Meritorious Unit Commendations. Inactivated from 1973 to 1998, the Battalion would would again see combat service as the 79th Ordnance Battalion (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) in the War on Terrorism, earning a Meritorious Unit Commendation for its 2006 deployment and another for service between 2011 and 2012.
The Battalion is currently a part of the 71st Ordnance Group and is based at Fort Cavazos, Texas.