The 47th Infantry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia, commonly called a unit crest or DUI for short, was approved for the Regiment on 20 March 1936 with a design that pays tribute to its formation and first combat service in World War I. In the upper left, the canton displays an image from the coat of arms of the 9th Infantry Regiment, the unit from which personnel was taken to form the 47th. In the body of the shield is the insignia of the 4th Infantry Division, the unit under which the 47th Infantry served during World War I.
Distinctive Unit Insignias are 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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Constituted on 15 May 1917 as the 47th Infantry, the 47th Infantry Regiment was assigned to the 4th Division (later designated as the 4th Infantry Division after February 1942) and deployed to France for World War I. One of two Regiments making the 7th Infantry Brigade, the 47th arrived in France in May 1918 and took part in five campaigns before the signing of the Armistice. It was inactivated in September 1921 and would undergo several reorganizational processes before being assigned to the 9th Division (later 9th Infantry Division) in August 1940 and activated on the tenth of that month.
During World War II, it would participate in nine campaigns in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater and be awarded an amazing seven Presidential Unit Citations for its actions, as well as a French Croix de Guerre and a Belgian Fourragere 1940 with two citations in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army. Following the war, it would go on to designated as a parent regiment in the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) and withdrawn from assignment to the 9th Infantry Division. Deployed to Vietnam, the Regiment would earn credit for participating in eleven campaigns and became the recipient of a Presidential Unit Citation, three Valorous Unit Awards, and a Meritorious Unit Commendation.
Withdrawn from CARS in 1986 and reorganized in the U.S. Army Regimental System, the unit would go on to be transferred to Training and Doctrine Command in 1996. Currently, the only two active battalions in the Regiment are the 2nd and 3rd, with the latter being reactivated in 2019 after a six-year inactivation. Both serve as training units at Fort Moore (formerly Fort Benning), Georgia.