The 320th Ordnance Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia, colloquially referred to as a unit crest or a DUI, was approved on 18 July 2002. Its crimson and yellow tones are used to reflect the organization’s status an Ordnance unit, along with the flaming bomb in the upper left that is adapted from the Ordnance Corps branch insignia.
White and black are used for the background of areas divided by the scarlet triangle (a “reversed pile” in heraldic terms) to symbolize day and night and thus the round-the-clock nature of the Battalion’s mission. A fleur-de-lis in the reversed pile and a lion rampant in the right area are references to the unit’s campaign credits in Europe during World War in Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe. A pair of crossed swords denotes military preparedness, as well as teamwork and cooperation. “Support The Fight” is the Battalion motto.
the Distinctive Unit Insignia 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 (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.
Full guidance on wear of the DUI is found in DA Pamphlet 670-1,
Section 21-22, "Distinctive unit insignia."
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HQ and HQ Detachment, 320th Ordnance Battalion was constituted under that designation in the Army of the United States on 25 February 1943. After fighting in Europe during World War II and earning battle honors in four campaigns (see above), the Battalion was inactivated on 26 November 1945 and remained so until it was allotted to the Organized Reserves on 18 January 1947 and activated just under two weeks later.
The Battalion remained a Reserve unit for the rest of its service life, seeing the Organized Reserves redesignated as the Organized Reserve Corps (March 1948) and the Organized Reserve Corps redesignated as today’s Army Reserve. It was ordered into active military service on 15 October 1961 and was released from service on 9 August 1962. Inactivated on 31 January 1968, the Battalion was reactivated more than three decades later on 16 October 2000 at Lincoln, Nebraska.
There is no readily available public information on the Battalion’s service or activities since that time and has presumably been inactivated, disbanded, or redesignated with a new title. We encourage any visitors with information regarding the history of the 320th Ordnance Battalion, both before and after its reactivation in 2000, to contact us so we might make it available for those interested in the unit and its history.