In honor of the soldiers who went ashore 69 years ago today, the arms of the main American units that landed on the Normandy beaches on June 6, 1944. (Note: Ranger battalions in 1944 had no unit coats of arms.)

Omaha Beach

116th Infantry Regiment

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/116th_Infantry_coa.png/118px-116th_Infantry_coa.png

16th Infantry Regiment

“http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/ImageProxy.ashx?n=1&t=original&id=6422[/IMG]<br /

18th Infantry Regiment

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/18_Infantry_Regiment_COA.png

115th Infantry Regiment

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/115InfRegCOA.PNG/116px-115InfRegCOA.PNG” class=“bbcode_img” >

Utah Beach

8th Infantry Regiment

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/8_Infantry_Regiment_COA.png/101px-8_Infantry_Regiment_COA.png

12th Infantry Regiment

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/12_Infantry_Regiment_COA.png

22d Infantry Regiment

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/22_US_Infantry_Regiment_COA.PNG

Airborne Landings (82d Airborne Div)

505th Parachute Infantry Regiment

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/505_Inf_Rgt_DUI.gif/150px-505_Inf_Rgt_DUI.gif

(Note:  These arms were not granted until 1952.  I don’t know if the unit had arms in 1944.)

507th Parachute Infantry Regiment

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/507_INF_REG_COA.gif

508th Parachute Infantry Regiment

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/508_INF_RGT_COA.gif

Airborne Landings (101st Airborne Div)

501st Parachute Infantry Regiment

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/501PIR_CoA.gif

502d Parachute Infantry Regiment

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/502_Parachute_Infantry_Regiment_COA.PNG

506th Parachute Infantry Regiment

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/506InfRegtCOA.gif

Another one.

70th Tank Battalion (Utah Beach)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/2-70_Armor_Coat_of_Arms.gif/119px-2-70_Armor_Coat_of_Arms.gif

(The crest postdates the Normandy invasion.)

4th Engineer Battalion (Utah Beach)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/004-Engineer-Battalion-COA.png/122px-004-Engineer-Battalion-COA.png

743d Tank Battalion, Omaha Beach

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/743rd_Tank_Bn_Coat_of_Arms.jpg/197px-743rd_Tank_Bn_Coat_of_Arms.jpg

741st Tank Battalion, Omaha Beach

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/741st_Tank_Bn_Coat_of_Arms.jpg/197px-741st_Tank_Bn_Coat_of_Arms.jpg

319th Glider Field Artillery Battalion

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/319FARegtCOA.jpg/100px-319FARegtCOA.jpg

320th Glider Field Artillery Battalion

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/320FARegtCOA.jpg

Both landed on the evening of June 6.

Joseph McMillan;99205 wrote:

319th Glider Field Artillery Battalion

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/319FARegtCOA.jpg/100px-319FARegtCOA.jpg

Ft. Benning?

Thanks for this thread, Joe. There is some really nice heraldry in there.

Kenneth Mansfield;99207 wrote:

Ft. Benning?

No, Fort Gordon.  The 319th was organized and trained there before being deployed to France in 1917.

I hope you don’t mind a quasi-heraldic British interloper.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/166661_151914384862043_804396_n.jpg

79th Armoured Division (my father and maternal grandfather’s mob) which landed everywhere except Omaha.

James

Joseph McMillan;99208 wrote:

No, Fort Gordon.  The 319th was organized and trained there before being deployed to France in 1917.

Thanks. It had the only obvious state reference I noticed in a shield. I forgot Georgia has more than one base.

Thanks for compiling this list Joe, it’s a fitting tribute.

Thank you for doing this.

We must remember.

Most of the USAAF troop carrier groups that flew the airborne troops to the drop/glider landing zones had no arms in 1944 (their component squadrons generally would have had insignia, of course), but three did have full-fledged arms that would have been worn on the uniform and embroidered on the respective group colors.

313th Troop Carrier Group

http://www.ericsusafpatches.nl/Airlift/Wings/313 TAW001.jpg

(The picture shows the arms as borne by the USAF successor unit, the 313th Tactical Airlift Wing.)

314th Troop Carrier Group

http://www.koreanwar.org/html/images/usaf/314tcg.jpg

"Or, on clouds in fess, azure, two boots passant of the field, ornamented gules."  Since replaced by a less original design.

315th Troop Carrier Group

http://www.koreanwar.org/html/images/usaf/315tcg.jpg

"Azure, a winged packing box bend sinisterwise or."