The History of the 29th Infantry Division Insignia

The 29th Infantry Division insignia has existed for more than 100 years and the division's soldiers have worn it on nearly every continent.  This adaptation of the Taoist Yin-Yang or Taiji symbol (太極兩儀) is recognized around the world. 

The creator of the 29th Division insignia, MG James Ulio enlisted in the Army in 1900 serving as a private before earning a commission. With the beginning of World War I he was assigned to the 29th Division, which was formed of soldiers from Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Washington D.C., and New Jersey units. Then a Major, Ulio recognized that having units from both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line made the 29th different from other Army divisions. 

“Recognizing the unique composition of the 29th, bringing together units from North and South, Ulio designed a patch which would highlight the reconciliation and reunification of the country,” said Virginia National Guard historian Al Barnes. “He used the Korean “symbol of life” with colors of blue and gray to symbolize the 29th.” 

The symbol was used to mark the divisional property such as vehicles, a clear and unambiguous declaration of ownership understood by speakers of any language. Ulio submitted his unit logo to the Adjutant General of the Army for formal approval and it became the Army’s very first registered divisional patch in 1917. However, soldiers did not begin to wear it on their sleeves until near the end of the war. “By October 1917, the 29th Division and more than a million of their fellow Doughboys were fighting in the Meuse-Argonne campaign,” said Barnes. “One of the divisions fighting in the Argonne was the 81st Division, which had taken the ‘Wildcat’ as their symbol. The commander of the 81st authorized his soldiers to wear a wildcat patch on their left sleeve in order to boost morale as well as a means of identifying his soldiers. By the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918, all units in the American Army were authorized shoulder patches and the soldiers of the 29th immediately began to wear them.”

The insignia’s designer Ulio stayed in the Army and by World War II had been promoted to the rank of major general, and assigned as the Adjutant General of the Army. Proving to be a successful Adjutant General during World War II, Ulio also led the way for racial integration in the Army. In 1944 he ordered the end of racial segregation on military transportation and in recreational facilities on all Army posts before higher authority gave it the force of law. Ulio is quoted as saying, “I will tell you what morale is. It is when a Trooper thinks his Regiment is the best in the world, his Troop is the best in the Regiment, his Squad is the best in the Troop, and that he himself is the best Trooper in the outfit."

Since the first World War, the 29th Infantry Division as served as the spearhead of the invasion of Nazi occupied France, supported civilians in numerous domestic emergencies, sent elements to nearly every peace-keeping mission around the world and served continuously in the defense of the nation since the attack on 9-11.