349th (Infantry) Regiment, US Army

349TH (INFANTRY) REGIMENT, US ARMY

(Coat of Arms)

(Distinctive Unit Insignia)

Official blazon

Shield: Azure, a bend Or, on a chief Argent a quatrefoil of the first charged with a fleur-de-lis of the second.
Crest: That for the regiments and separate battalions of the Army Reserve: From a wreath Argent and Azure, 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: LIBERTY AND RIGHTS.

Distinctive Unit Insignia. Description: A Gold color and metal enamel device 1 inch (2.54 cm) in height consisting of a shield blazoned: Azure, a bend Or, on a chief Argent a quatrefoil of the first charged with a fleur-de-lis of the second. Attached below the shield is a scroll inscribed "LIBERTY AND RIGHTS" in Blue.

Origin/meaning

The shield is blue for Infantry, the original designation of the unit. The gold bend is taken from the arms of Alsace; the 349th Infantry served as a unit of the 88th Division during World War I, where the division wore the blue quatrefoil. The fleur-de-lis indicates the regiment's baptism of fire in France. The chief is made white, so as not to have a blue quatrefoil on a blue field.

The arms were originally authorized for the 349th Infantry Regiment on 9 November 1925. It was redesignated for the 349th Regiment on 6 April 1999. The Distinctive Unit Insignia was originally authorized for the 349th Infantry Regiment on 22 March 1926. It was redesignated for the 349th Regiment on 6 April 1999. Literature: Images from Wikimedia Commons. Information from The Institute of Heraldry, US Army.