4.8 by 5.9 inches
Mort Cohen collection
The Distinctive Unit Insignia of the 34th InfantryRegiment, which is nicknamed “Leyte Dragons” for their outstanding performance during the WWII battle to liberate the island and in particular the Battle of Kilay Ridge, was approved on 3 May 1923. It celebrates the establishment of the Regiment at El Paso, Texas through the transfer of Soldiers from the 7th, 20th, and 23rd Infantry regiments.
In the canton in the upper left, the masoned wall comes from the coat of arms of the 7th Infantry, while the white-and-blue Maltese Cross is taken from the coats of arms of the 20th and 23rd. A blue background with numerous gold crosslets signifies the unit’s World War I service. The Regiment served in a province of Lorraine that in ancient times was the Barony of Commercy, wand its Barons had blue coats of arms that were dotted with gold crosslets such as these. Fittingly, the unit motto is in French, Toujours en Avant ("Always Forward)."
In addition to its World War I combat service, the 34th Infantry Regiment, the unit served with the 24th Infantry Division in the previously mentioned Leyte campaign (it earned an Arrowhead device for taking part in the assault landing), as well as in the New Guinea, Luzon, and Southern Philippines campaigns. Its earned two Presidential Unit Citations and a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for the extraordinary heroism its Soldiers displayed as they sought to dislodge and expel the Japanese defenders.
During the Korean War, the Regiment was still assigned to the 24th Infantry Division and fought in three of that war’s ten campaigns, garnering a Presidential Unit Citation and two Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citations during their deployment. It would mark the last combat action the Regiment would see; in 1987 it was transferred to the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and given the mission of training new Infantry recruits. Following the 2007 transfer of the 165th Infantry Brigade to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, the 1st and 3rd Battalions, 34th Infantry Regiment have been assigned to it to serve as Basic Combat Training units.
