507th Infantry Unit Crest (Down To Earth)

The 507th Infantry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia (also called a “unit crest” or DUI) was originally approved on 21 January 1943 for the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment. On 22 October 1985, it was redesignated and amended to update the symbolism and description for the 507th Infantry Regiment. Blue and white are used almost exclusively in the design of the insignia to reflect the organization’s origins and status as an Infantry unit. The open parachute clearly conveys the Regiment’s primary function, and the lightning flash symbolizes the speed at which duties are executed. “Down To Earth” is the Regimental motto.

Constituted on 23 June 1942 as the 507th Parachute Infantry in the Army of the United States and activated the following month, today’s 507th Infantry Regiment has not seen combat since World War II, when it took part in four campaigns and was part of assault landings in two of them them—Normandy (the D-Day parachute drops) and Central Europe (in Operation Varsity, the airborne crossing of the Rhine). During the fighting in Normandy as the Allies sought to breakout into France, the Regiment earned a Presidential Unit Citation for its courage and tenacity during action in the Cotentin Peninsula; it was also the recipient of two French Croix de Guerre with Palm, World War II awards and a French Fourragere World War II.

Inactivated in 1949, the Regiment was reorganized and redesignated as the 507th Infantry, a parent regiment in the U.S. Army Regimental System, on 23 October 1985. It was concurrently released from its assignment to the 17th Airborne Division—a posting it had maintained for fifty years—and was transferred to United States Army Training and Doctrine Command.

Today, the Regiment is based at Fort Benning, Georgia and is tasked with the Airborne training of all Department of Defense personnel—Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines—in Basic Airborne capabilities as well as advanced training for Jumpmasters and Pathfinders. The Regiment is also the training organization for the Army’s “Silver Wings,” officially known as the United States Army Maneuver Center of Excellence Command Exhibition Parachute Team.