Commonly called a unit crest or DUI for short, the Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI) of the 141st Engineer Battalion employs a shield based on the design of the shield found on the DUI of the 164th Infantry Regiment, the parent organization of the Battalion during World War I, with the colors of the field and castle swapped. The demi-sun at the bottom, on the other hand, is from the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the 41st Division, parent organization of the 164th Infantry Regiment.
Scarlet is used for the shield background to denote an Engineer unit, and the Spanish castle—taken from the Spanish Campaign Medal—represents service in the Spanish-American War. Three mullets (stars) allude to the unit’s Philippine Insurrection service. It is somewhat ironic that the unit motto—VERBA PAUCA, MULTI FACTA, Latin for “Our Words Are Few—Our Accomplishments Many”—does not appear on the unit crest.
Distinctive Unit Insignias 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.
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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Over seven decades elapsed between the organization in 1884 of the oldest unit in the lineage of the 141st Engineer Battalion—Company G, Dakota Militia, Dakota Territory—and the redesignation of the organization as a unit in the Corps of Engineers. Redesignated as Company G, 1st North Dakota Infantry Regiment, the unit fought in the Spanish-American War and was mustered for Mexican Border duty service but was not deployed.
As Company G, 164th Infantry Regiment, the unit served in World War as part of the 164th Infantry Regiment’s 82nd Infantry Brigade; during World War II, it remained a component of the 164th Infantry was assigned to the Americal Division (later 23rd Infantry). It would become the 141st Engineer Battalion on 15 April 1955 and would retain essentially the same designation until its inactivation in 2008.
During the 1980s, two of its companies were recognized for their excellence by being tapped for the Itschner Award for the most outstanding Engineer companies in the National Guard, one in 1984 and another in 1987. Deployed to Iraq in 2004, it would receive a Valorous Unit Award for it service between 12 March and 11 September of that year, when it discovered 150 IEDs and cleared approximately 125,000 miles of roadway.
Following the Battalion’s inactivation, its lineage was transferred to the 231st Brigade Support Battalion, North Dakota Army National Guard.