485th Chemical Battalion, US Army

485TH CHEMICAL BATTALION, US ARMY

(Coat of Arms)

(Distinctive Unit Insignia)

Official blazon

Shield: Azure (Cobalt Blue), on a pile wavy Or between four goutti d’eau two and two a smoke ring Sable.
Crest: That for the regiments and separate battalions of the Army Reserve: From a wreath Or 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: RENDERING EXCELLENCE.

Distinctive Unit Insignia. Description: A gold color metal and enamel device 1 1/8 inches (2.86 cm) in height overall consisting of a black smoke ring composed of five irregular lobes between two cobalt blue sloped areas divergent from base to the top, each flank bearing two white heraldic drops, one vertically below the other; all enclosed by a black scroll lined gold, arched across the top and inscribed “RENDERING” and concavely curved in base and inscribed “EXCELLENCE” all letters gold.

Origin/meaning

Cobalt blue and golden yellow (gold) are the colors used for the Chemical Corps. The smoke ring denotes the smoke generator mission of the Battalion. Black connotes concealment, and the ring shape suggests the great mobility of the unit in providing screening activities. The unit’s location in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, is indicated by the area between the sloped sides, for the valley of the Allegheny Mountains, and the wavy edges together with the white heraldic drops indicating water refer to the floods associated with its history. Additionally, the four drops, eight waves on the slopes, and five smoke lobes (485) allude to the unit’s designation.

The arms were approved on 12 May 1997. The Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved on 12 May 1971.

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