Commonly called a “unit crest,” the Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI) of the 188th Infantry Regiment was first approved on 28 September 1951 for the 188th Airborne Infantry Regiment. It was redesignated for the 188th Infantry Regiment on 11 September 1963.
Blue and white, the principal colors used in the design of the insignia, are the current and historic colors of the Infantry branch. An eagle’s wing symbolizes the concept of vertical attack and the striking power of Airborne units, while a “golden sword of freedom” piecing a chain recalls the organization’s participation in the liberation of some 2000 POWs at the Los Banos prison camp in Luzon, Philippine Islands. Three red roundels (torteaux) seen on the wing stand for the three campaigns which the unit fought during World War II: New Guinea, Leyte, and Luzon. The unit motto, “Winged Attack” is a reference to the unit’s original role as a Glider Infantry Regiment.
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 188th Infantry Regiment was first constituted on 12 November 1942 and activated 25 February 1943 at Camp MacKall, North Carolina as an element of the 11th Airborne Division and was subsequently redesignated as the 188th Parachute Infantry on 20 July 1945. During three campaigns in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, the unit garnered three campaign streamers for action in the New Guinea, Leyte, and Luzon campaigns, with an Arrowhead device for taking part in an assault landing during the Luzon campaign. It was also awarded both a Presidential Unit Citation and a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.
In November 1948, the 188th Parachute Infantry was allotted to the Regular Army and on 30 June 1949 it was redesignated as the 188th Airborne Infantry, at which time it was inactivated. It would be reactivated in November 1950 at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Seven years would go by before it was inactivated again on 1 March 1957 in Germany and relieved from assignment to the 11th Airborne Division.
It was reorganized and redesignated as the 188th Infantry, a parent regiment in the Combat Arms Regimental System, on 15 May 1963. Two months later, Company A, 188th Infantry was redesignated as the HQ and HQ Company, 1st Battalion, 188th Infantry and assigned to the 11th Air Assault Division. Activated on 18 July 1963, the 1st Battalion was in service for less than two years before it was inactivated on 30 June 1965, effectively inactivating the Regiment as well.