305th Infantry Regiment, US Army

305TH INFANTRY REGIMENT, US ARMY

(Coat of Arms)

(Distinctive Unit Insignia)

Official blazon

Shield: Sable, four bendlets wavy between an oak tree eradicated and the devil of Chateau-de-Diable all Argent.
Crest: That for the regiments and separate battalions of the Army Reserve: From a wreath Argent and Sable, the Lexington Minute Man Proper. The statue of the Minute Man, Captain John Parker (H.H. Kitson, sculptor), stands on the common in Lexington, Massachusetts.
Motto: SECOND TO NONE.

Distinctive Unit Insignia. Description: A silver color metal and enamel device 1 5/16 inches (3.33cm) in height overall consisting of a black oak leaf (Quercus robur) stem to base in the form of a devil's tail, on the leaf four white bendlets wavy.

Origin/meaning

Coat of Arms: The bendlets represent the four rivers, Vesle, Aisne, Aire and Meuse; the devil, the Chateau-de-Diable; the oak tree, the Argonne. Distinctive Unit Insignia: The insignia is formed from charges appearing of the shield of the regimental coat of arms.

The arms were originally approved for the 305th Regiment Infantry, Organized Reserves on 14 June 1924. It was amended to withdraw the "Organized Reserves" from the designation and to delete the Organized Reserves' crest from the coat of arms on 10 Aug 1959. On 7 August 1970 the Coat of Arms was amended to reinstate the crest of the Army Reserve for the 305th Infantry Regiment. The arms were redesignated for the 305th Regiment on 12 April 1999. The Distinctive Unit Insignia was originally approved for the 305th Regiment Infantry, Organized Reserves on 1 July 1926. It was amended to withdraw "Organized Reserves" from the designation on 10 August 1959. The insignia was amended on 7 August 1970 to revise the description. On 12 April 1999 the distinctive unit insignia was redesignated with the description updated for the 305th Regiment.

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