501st Infantry Regiment, US Army

501ST INFANTRY REGIMENT, US ARMY

(Coat of Arms)

(Distinctive Unit Insignia)

Official blazon

Shield: Argent an Ojibway (Chippewa) thunderbird Azure garnished Gules.
Crest: On a wreath Argent and Azure a lion rampant Or langued and armed Gules charged on the shoulder with an escutcheon per pale of the like and of the second and holding in his right paw a staff bend sinisterwise of the third flying a standard per fess of the second and of the third, and in his left paw a key bendwise of the last.
Motto: GERONIMO.

Distinctive Unit Insignia. Description: A silver color metal and enamel device 1 1/16 inches (2.70cm) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Argent an Ojibway (Chippewa) thunderbird Azure garnished Gules. Attached below the shield a blue scroll inscribed "GERONIMO" in silver letters.

Origin/meaning

Shield: The colors blue and white indicate the Infantry nature of the organization. The thunderbird is an appropriate symbol for a parachute battalion. The motto has its origin in a cry uttered in the maiden jump of the test platoon and is now tradition with the 501st Parachute Battalion. Crest: The blue and yellow standard is the official standard of the town of Veghel, Holland. It was presented by the town to the old 501st in honor of their efforts in liberating the village from the enemy. The lion refers to a Citation in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for the action at Bastogne, whose arms are suggested by the red and blue shield on the lion's shoulder. The key refers to the position of Bastogne as a focal point of the German counterattack.

The Coat of Arms and Distinctive Unit Insignia was originally approved for the 501st Parachute Battalion on 29 March 1941. IThey was redesignated for the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment on 8 July 1942. On 20 January 1947 they was redesignated for the 501st Infantry Battalion. They was redesignated for the 501st Infantry Regiment on 18 September 1958. On 20 October 1985 the Coat of Arms was amended to add a crest.

Literature: Images from Wikimedia Commons. Information from The Institute of Heraldry, US Army.