801st Combat Support Hospital, US Army

801ST COMBAT SUPPORT HOSPITAL, US ARMY

Official blazon

A gold color metal and enamel device 1 1/8 inches (2.86 cm) in height overall consisting of a red Greek cross bearing two gold heraldic lions passant guardant of the vertical arm, between them a hite disc bearing horizontally throughout two blue bars, all with a continuous maroon scroll arced around top and base and doubled white behind lateral arms of the cross, inscribed "TO SERVE" on the upper arc and "MAN AND COUNTRY" on the lower, all in gold letters.

Origin/meaning

Maroon and white are the colors used for the Army Medical Department, and the red cross is symbolic of aid. The gold lions passant guardant on a red ground are derived from the arms of Normandy, where the unit, as the 28th Station Hospital, participated in the Northern France Campaign during World War II. Two blue bands on white, adapted from the flag of Chicago, refer to the organization's location at Fort Sheridan, near Chicago.

The Distinctive Unit Insignia was originally approved for the 801st General Hospital on 4 November 1971. It was redesignated effective 1 September 1995, for the 801st Combat Support Hospital, with description and symbolism revised.

Literature: Image and Information from The Institute of Heraldry, US Army.