The approval date for this Airborne background trimming (oval) approved for Headquarters, 506th Infantry Regiment (Airborne) is not listed on the insignia’s information page at The Institute of Heraldry Web site. It’s not also not found in the insignia reference book U.S. Army Patches, Flashes, and Ovals by Barry Jason Stein, which does indicate the insignia had a precursor with a shape that was much closer to a true oval but employing the same red, white, and blue color scheme.
As the official name suggests, an oval serves as both a backing and trimming Airborne-related badges, specifically Parachutist and Air Assault. The main portion of the badge is centered on the embroidered insignia before the combination is attached to an authorized uniform garment. With the release of the Army Green Service Uniform in 2018, these include the Service Uniform COAT (AGSU and ASU, including ASU/Dress), Service Uniform Shirt (Class B ASU), and Army Maternity Tunics (both blue and green, but only worn by female Soldiers).
Wear guidance for ovals is found in
Chapter 21-32, subsection (b) of the January 2021 edition of DA PAM 670-1, while detailed instructions on the placement of the oval-badge combination, which varies between the authorized uniform garments, are found in
Chapter 22-16, subsection (b) of the same manual.
Organized in the Combat Arms Regimental System as the 506th Infantry in 1957 and in the United States Army Regimental System three decades later on 16 March 1987, the 506th Infantry Regiment was given its current designation on 1 October 2005. It was originally constituted as the 506th Parachute Infantry in the Army of the United States on 1 July 1942 and activated three weeks later at Camp Toccoa, Georgia.
Nicknamed “Currahee” for the nearby mountain that was incorporated into the strict training Regiment (Soldiers ran from the Camp, up the mountain, and back again), the Regiment was officially credited with fighting in four campaigns in Europe during World War II, earning Arrowhead devices for taking part in assault landings in the Normandy and Rhineland campaigns. Its military honors for service during this period include two Presidential Unit Citations and a French Croix de Guerre with Palm, Netherlands Orange Lanyard, Belgian Croix de Guerre with Palm, and a Belgian Fourragere for being cited twice in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army.
It would undergo three periods of inactivation before being deployed to Vietnam, where its service in twelve campaigns was recognized with Two Presidential Unit Citations, two Valorous Unit Awards, and a Meritorious Unit Commendation. It would be the last combat the Regiment would see under the old Combat Arms Regimental System, and the structure of the current U.S. Army Regimental System, which is administrative and organizational rather than operational, makes it more difficult for the Regiment as a whole to earn campaign credits or military decorations. Its campaign participation in the War on Terrorism is yet to be determined, but the U.S. Army Center of Military History’s Lineage and Honors Information for the Regiment indicates it was the recipient of a Meritorious Unit Commendation for service in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005-2006.
1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, unofficially nicknamed “Red Currahee,” is assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. The 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment—“White Currahee”—is assigned to the 101st Airborne Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team.
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506th Infantry Regiment Unit Crest (DUI)