35th Signal Brigade, US Army

35TH SIGNAL BRIGADE, US ARMY

(Shoulder Sleeve Insignia)

(Distinctive Unit Insignia)

Official blazon

Shoulder Sleeve Insignia. Description: On a rectangular shaped device arched at the top and bottom 2 1/2 inches (6.35cm) in width and 3 inches (7.62cm) in height overall, quartered orange and white, a blue lion’s head jessant of two lightning flashes saltirewise one white, one orange, all within a 1/8 inch (.32cm) blue border.

Distinctive Unit Insignia. Description: A gold color metal and enamel insignia 1 1/4 inches (3.18cm) in height overall consisting of an orange sun of twelve rays charged with a gold bell, the sun surmounted on either side by two white enamel lions respectant and sitting on an orange enamel scroll inscribed “UTMOST OF OUR ABILITY” in gold letters, the space between the sun and scroll and behind the lion’s black enamel.

Origin/meaning

Shoulder Sleeve Insignia. Orange and white are the colors traditionally associated with the Signal Corps. The lion, a symbol of courage and fierceness, is blue in allusion to the unit’s former Airborne designation. The lightning flashes symbolize communications, and their position, saltirewise, implies strength.

The insignia was approved on 23 May 1980. It was amended to delete the airborne tab and update the description and symbolism on 11 December 2006.

Distinctive Unit Insignia. The design commemorates the unit’s service in World War II for which it was awarded the Meritorious Unit Streamer inscribed “Asiatic-Pacific.” The two lions are from the coat of arms of Burma; they stand for participation in the Central Burma and India-Burma Campaigns. A lion device is also one of India’s state emblems; it forms the capital of one of the great stone pillars erected by the famous Emperor Asoka about 350 B.C. The sun with twelve rays is from the flag of China; the bell, an ancient instrument for signaling, is of a type used in the Orient where bells were first introduced and are widely used today. The sun and bell refer to the installation and operation of telephone communications during the China offensive in 1945. The colors orange and white are those used for the Signal Corps.

The insignia was originally approved for the 35th Signal Group on 2 August 1968. It was redesignated for the 35th Signal Brigade on 25 September 1980.

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