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The 1/92nd Field
Artillery |
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The Crest Believe it or not that text above is the description of the picture to its left. If this appears to be written in a different language, it is! This is a description used in "Heraldic Blazonry" with which the Blazoner (one who colors Coats of Arms) will color a black and white engraving with the correct colors. Below is the history of what each of the items in the Crest stands for, but first lets look at the meaning to some of the language in Heraldry. |
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| Wreath | The Wreath is a braid of ribbon of the primary colors of the Crest Argent means Silver and Gules means Red. It is used to separate the Crest from the Shield. |
| Castle | A castle of the first, color that is, or Silver. Enflamed proper: just means naturally colored it can also mean the colors of the type of unit. In the case of Artillery, that is Red and Yellow. So as not to bore the reader lets leave Heraldry and go to the history. If you want to know more about Heraldry the web and the library are great places to learn. |
| History of the Symbols Used |
The fire arrow hurled from an Arbalest, an early artillery weapon, symbolizes the mission of the battalion. The shape of the bow further alludes to the Battle of the Bulge in which the unit participated, The flames refer to the fire support provided in the Normandy Invasion for which they were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. The arrow further alludes to their assault landings and the medieval castle traditionally represents the areas in which the unit fought during World War 2: Europe, France, and Germany. The Rose of Sharon (the Korean national flower) symbolizes service in Korea for which they were awarded the Korean Presidential Unit Citation. |
| It has evolved from a "True Crest" in 1942, into a "Coat of Arms without a Scroll" in 1958. Then in 1965 a "Scroll" with the motto "Brave Cannons" was added to complete the Coat of Arms. In the following test below I will attempt to explain what is what and how it came to be. We will discuss the top or the "Crest" first. |
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 The ShieldThe Shield pictured on the right was the first shield designed for the Ninety Second Field Artillery and was approved for use in 1958. If you put the crest on top of this shield you have the first full Coat of Arms. The symbolism here alludes to the "punch" that the firepower of Artillery carries and the ability to penetrate the fortifications of the enemy. |
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 Coat of Arms 1/92nd FA |
The art or practice of Heraldry is almost as old as man himself and was originally designed to identify clans and warriors on the battlefield and show alliance to a certain King or ruler. It has changed over the years to show nobility and the branches of the families and were they originated. The rules and symbols used in Heraldry are pretty much set forth in the numerous books on the subject. And as families (or units) change they are flexible enough to be changed as families (or units) change. While working on this project I got to wondering why we don't update the Coat of Arms to include the service the unit saw in Vietnam. Let's do that now. If you could add anything to the Coat of Arms to signify the Vietnam service, what would it be? Would it be a mountain for the Central Highlands? Would it be the Ivy Patch of the 4th Infantry Division or the Patch of the 173rd Airborne Brigade? Would it be a stand of bamboo like the one on the Vietnam Service Medal? Or maybe the Dragon from the same medal? |
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Most of the things mentioned are not recognized in Heraldry. The Dragon would be the only item but where would you put it? The Crest is pretty crowded, but maybe there's room on the Shield. Whatever is decided (and by whom) I'm sure it will be a heated debate. Below, I humbly submit my entry into the field of battle. It is simple, "Crestless", but contains all of the history in proper perspective. |
| Thank you for your time. | |
"On a wreath of the colors argent and gules a castle of the first with entrance arch sanguine and two turrets enflamed proper the battlements between the turrets supporting a rose of Sharon also proper and in base a bow fessewise sable with drawstring or armed with a fire arrow point up palewise enflamed all proper."
The Scroll