Medical Department Fort Benning Unit Crest (Dedication To Others)

The Distinctive Unit Insignia (AKA “unit crest” or DUI) of the U.S. Army Medical Department Activity, Fort Benning was originally approved for Martin Army Hospital on 30 January 1970, a facility that was named after Major General Joseph I. Martin, and its design pays tribute to his contribution to the Army Medical Service during thirty-seven years of service.

In the center is a red cross, longtime symbol for medical care and assistance, superimposed over a crossed flame and a bayonet. The bayonet is an allusion to Infantry School hosted at Fort Benning where then-Captain Martin trained in 1928; its placement behind the cross is to reflect his accomplishments in advancing techniques of field medicine; their use in today’s system training medical personnel are alluded by the flaming torch of knowledge.

Behind these images is a blue mosque, taken from the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of 5th Army personnel to reflect Martin’s service as Chief Surgeon with that organization in Africa and Italy during World War II. His two subsequent post-WWII tours of duty as the Chief Surgeon for the Western Pacific (with headquarters in Manila) and Chief Surgeon for the Pacific (headquarters in Tokyo) are symbolized by two annulet-enclosed stars, which are also map symbols for capitol cities.

Two laurel branches recall the General’s Legion of Merit award for service in the United States in 1940 and a Distinguished Service Medal for work during the aforementioned service with 5th Army in Northern Italy (the award is for the winter of 1944-1945). A simulated ribbon between the branches is a reference to the American Typhus Commission Medal that Martin was awarded for his selfless serving in battling typus outbreaks in Naples (1943-1944) and in Japan (1946).

On 22 August 1973, the insignia was redesignated for the U.S. Army Medical Department Activity, Fort Benning to reflect the facility’s new name, but the imagery on the insignia ensures that Martin’s contributions to medicine, driven by a “Dedication To Others” shared by all Army Medical Department personnel and units, will never be forgotten.

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