Also known as a unit crest and typically referred to as a DUI, the Distinctive Unit Insignia of the 143rd Field Artillery Group was originally approved on 2 April 1969 while the unit was designated as the 143rd Artillery Group. It was redesignated for the 143rd Field Artillery Group 15 June 1972.
Scarlet and gold (yellow) are the predominant tones in the insignia reflecting the unit’s status as an organization in the Artillery branch. The Group’s participation in four World War II campaigns is reflecting in corresponding imagery on the insignia: a blue fleur-de-lis for the Northern France campaign, the blue waves at the base for the Rhine river and the Rhineland campaign, the split and uprooted tree for Ardennes-Alsace (to denote its history as a divided region), and the gold mountain peak for the Central Europe campaign. “Steel And Honor,” the unit motto, recalls the unit’s branch and the spirit of its personnel.
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. DUIs are not worn on the Dress variations of either uniform, however.
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The 143rd Field Artillery Group is a California Army National Guard unit that appears to have been been inactivated, deactivated, disbanded, or redesignated. However, a
recent story in Lodi News Online indicates that Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 143rd Field Artillery Group still conducts monthly training drill and uses them as a recruiting tool.