6 by 6.6 inches
Mort Cohen collection
The 29th Engineer Battalion Distinctive UnitInsignia was approved on 12 February 1924 and celebrates highlights of the unit’s history to that point. A blue shield with red saltire (“x” figure) is taken from the coat of arms of Langres, Haute Marne in France and alludes to the headquarters of the 29th Engineers during World War I; white piping along the red diagonal lines of the saltire yield the Corps of Engineers branch colors. Four stars represent four significant operations carried out by the 29th Engineers, while the red, five-bastioned fort points to the numerical designation of the unit's parent organizations (5th Engineers) and also recalls the Santiago campaign in the War with Spain. The crescent denotes combat against the Moros in the Philippine Insurrection
Originally organized as the 29th Engineer Regiment between September and November 1917, the 29th Engineer Battalion, nicknamed "Wayfinders," was first given Battalion status when the Regiment was reconstituted under that title following four years of demobilization. On 7 November 1941 it was redesignated as the 29th Engineer Topographic Battalion, and in June 1944 its Headquarters, Headquarters and Service Company were reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 29th Engineer Base Topographic Battalion.
