82nd Signal Battalion Unit Crest

This hand painted wooden unit crest of the 82nd Signal Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division of the 18th Airborne Corps based in Fort Bragg, NC (now Fort Liberty) dates back to my time as a Specialist Four Administrative Specialist in battalion headquarters from about April 1977 to my honorable discharge on August 23, 1979.

It's not known who created this hand painted wooden unit crest, but it served atop a wooden, hand painted concrete pylon in front of the battalion headquarters for many years. During my time the crest was removed, but the wooden sign itself was replaced by a standard blue and white metal sign after my discharge. I asked to keep the crest and it was granted by the battalion commander (the reverse shows an attached wire that was used as a wall hanging).

The unit crest identifies the history of the 82nd Signal Battalion as an airborne unit from its World War I beginnings as a light infantry unit. The fleur-de-lis represents combat operations in France during World War I with the wings and the chevrons representing combat operations during World War II divided by alternating orange and white as the traditional signal colors. The black chevron shows the numbers '8' and '2' in Morse Code with the unit motto 'The Commander's Voice' in a ribbon just below.

The wooden crest will be donated to the 82nd Airborne Museum for the exhibit of the 82nd Signal Battalion memorabilia already on display since its deactivation in 2006.