File:588th Engineer Battalion CoA.jpg

English: Coat of Arms (CoA) of the 588th Engineer Battalion, part of the United States Army.

Description/Blazon Shield Gules, on a bend wavy between ptarmigan statant and a spruce tree, Argent, a cost Sable. Crest On a wreath of the colors, Argent and Gules, a lion passant guardant Or armed and langued of the second in front of a castle tower of the like with peaked roof of the third and four bamboo spikes issuant two from either side of the first. Motto HIC ET UBIQUE (Here and Everywhere).

Symbolism Shield Scarlet and white are the colors of the Corps of Engineers. The wavy division of the shield represents the rivers crossed and the water of the pipeline. The cost which is a diminutive of the bend is the heraldic representation of the scarf of a military commander and denotes the pipe handled by the organization in maintaining and constructing the road through the Canadian wilderness. The ptarmigan symbolizes the geographical area in which the battalion has served. The silver spruce tree is emblematic of the forests of spruce found in the Canadian wilderness, its silver colors represent the snow thereon. Crest The Battalion's participation in two European Theater campaigns of World War II is represented by the gold lion from the Arms of Normandy and the castle tower for Northern France. The four bamboo spikes refer to a defensive weapon used in South Vietnam where the unit received the Valorous Unit Award and the Meritorious Unit Commendation, two times each. The gold roof of the tower alludes to the award of the Vietnamese Civil Action Honor Medal.

Background

The coat of arms was originally approved for the 388th Engineer General Service Regiment on 16 March 1943. It was redesignated for the 588th Engineer Battalion on 28 October 1954. The coat of arms was amended to add a crest on 30 December 1977.