16th Infantry Regiment, US Army

16TH INFANTRY REGIMENT, US ARMY

(Coat of Arms)

(Distinctive Unit Insignia)

Official blazon

Shield: Vair Argent and Azure, in chief an Indian arrow and a Philippine bolo in saltire Or and in base a five bastioned fort Gules fimbriated of the third (Or).
Crest: On a wreath of the colors on a cross pateé Argent a garb Proper pierced by a devil's trident in pale Sable armed Gules.
Motto: SEMPER PARATUS.

Origin/meaning

The field of vair is derived from arms seen in the Fléville Castle, which is now destroyed, as the regiment was based in Fléville, France, during the First World War.
The crossed arrow and bolo recall the Indian and Philippine fighting and the five-bastioned fort that was the badge of the V Corps in Cuba.
The crest is the white maltese cross of the V Corps in the Civil War and represents the desperate fighting in the Wheatfield and
Devil's Den at Gettysburg where the regiment lost approximately 50% of its effective strength. The motto "Always Prepared" has been in use by the regiment since 1907.

The arms on a memorial in Fléville, France (source)

Colour

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  Colour of the 3rd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment.

Literature: Colour from https://16thinfassn.org/history/regimental-colors/