Heraldry & Lineage

20TH ENGINEER BATTALION

 

20th Engineer Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia

20th Engineer Battalion Coat of Arms

 

DISTINCTIVE UNIT INSIGNIA

 

COAT OF ARMS

 

Distinctive Unit Insignia. Description: A Silver color metal and enamel device 1 1/8 inches (2.86 cm) in height consisting of a shield blazoned: Gules, a pale Argent (Silver Gray), on a chief of the like a fleur-de-lis of the first. Attached below the shield a Red scroll inscribed "CONDITE ET PUGNATE" in Silver letters. (The scroll was originally inscribed "CONDITERE ET PUGNATE" which was later deemed to be incorrect Latin.)

        Symbolism: The shield is red and white (silver) for Engineers, while the fleur-de-lis represents service in France during World War I. The motto translates to "Build And Fight."

        Background: The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 20th Engineer Regiment on 10 April 1941. It was amended to correct the description on 14 May 1941. It was redesignated for the 20th Engineer Combat Battalion on 11 June 1951. It was redesignated for the 20th Engineer Battalion on 12 October 1956. The insignia was amended to correct the Latin translation of the motto on 19 March 1974.



20th Engineer Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia
Old-style unit crest with improper Latin verb

 

Coat of Arms.

Blazon:

                Shield: Gules, a pale Argent, on a chief of the like a fleur-de-lis of the first.

Crest: On a wreath of the colors Argent and Gules, a tower of five merlons of the first, masoned Azure, bearing an arrowhead in base, point up, tierced per fess of the second, Vert and of the second charged with a mullet Or, all below and supporting a lion's head erased of the last langued of the third and charged with an arrowhead point up of the last.

Motto: CONDITE ET PUGNATE (Build and Fight).

        Symbolism:

Shield: The shield is red and white for Engineers, while the fleur-de-lis represents service in France during World War I.

Crest: The tower represents fortification and engineering. The five battlements allude to the Battalion's five decorations. The lion and blue arrowhead symbolize the Battalion's Presidential Unit Citation awarded for the assault landing at Normandy. The green and red arrowhead on the white tower refers to the assault landing in Sicily (red, white and green are the National colors of Italy). The colors red and green and the gold star also allude to the award of the French Croix de Guerre for the action at Vierville-Colleville. Gold and red refer to the colors of the Republic of Vietnam where the unit received three Meritorious Unit Commendations.

Background: The coat of arms was originally approved for the 20th Engineer Regiment on 11 April 1941. It was amended to correct the blazon on 19 May 1941. It was redesignated for the 20th Engineer Combat Battalion on 11 June 1951. It was redesignated for the 20th Engineer Battalion on 12 October 1956. It was amended to add a crest on 21 May 1973. The insignia was amended to correct the Latin translation of the motto on 19 March 1974. It was amended to correct the symbolism of the crest on 24 October 1975.




Department of the Army
Lineage of the 20th Engineer Battalion

07 December 1917
Constituted in the National Army as the 42nd Engineer Battalion

07 February 1918
Organized at Washington, DC.

18 October 1918
42nd Engineer Battalion broken up and its elements reorganized as follows
  • Headquarters disbanded
  • "A" Company redesignated as 42nd Company, 14th Battalion, 20th Engineer Regiment
  • "B" Company redesignated as 43rd Company, 14th Battalion, 20th Engineer Regiment
  • "C" Company redesignated as 44th Company, 14th Battalion, 20th Engineer Regiment
  • "D" Company redesignated as 45th Company, 14th Battalion, 20th Engineer Regiment

June/July 1919
42nd, 43rd, 44th and 45th Companies, 20th Engineer Regiment demobilized at Camp Merritt, New Jersey and Newport News, Virginia.

01 October 1933
Reconstituted in the Regular Army as the 42nd Engineer Regiment

01 June 1940
42nd Engineer Regiment activated at Fort Benning, Georgia.

01 August 1942
Redesignated as 20th Engineer Combat Regiment.

15 January 1944
20th Engineer Regiment broken up and its elements reorganized and redesignated as follows:
  • Headquarters and Headquarters Company as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1171st Engineer Combat Group
  • 1st Battalion, 20th Engineer Regiment as the 20th Engineer Combat Battalion,
  • 2nd Battalion, 20th Engineer Regiment as the 1340th Engineer Combat Battalion. (Hereafter separate lineage, the current-day 54th Engineer Battalion)

30 March 1946
20th Engineer Combat Battalion inactivated in Germany.

18 September 1950
20th Engineer Combat Battalion activated at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

08 June 1953
Reorganized as the 20th Engineer Battalion.

16 October 1992
Assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas.

16 October 2005
Relieved from assignment to the 1st Cavalry Division (Battalion organic companies concurrently inactivated; Support Company constituted and activated)