504th Military Police Battalion (United States)

The 504th Military Police Battalion is a military police battalion of the United States Army currently part of the 42nd Military Police Brigade supporting the I Corps and based at Fort Lewis, Washington.

Lineage

 * Constituted 29 July 1921 in the Organised Reserves as the 304th Military Police Battalion
 * Organised in Tennessee in April 1922
 * Inactivated 1 January 1938 in Tennessee, concurrently withdrawn from the Organised Reserves and allotted to the Regular Army
 * Re-designated 1 June 1940 as the 504th Military Police Battalion
 * Activated 15 May 1941 at Fort Sam Houston, Texas (D Company disbanded 20 June 1942 at Fort Sam Houston, Texas)
 * Inactivated 20 January 1947 in West Germany
 * Activated 2 October 1950 at Camp Gordon, Georgia (A, B, and C Companies inactivated 31 July 1972 in the Presido of San Francisco, California.)

Honours
Campaign Participation Credit Decorations
 * World War II: Tunisia, Sicily (with arrowhead), Naples-Foggia (with arrowhead), Anzio (with arrowhead), Rome-Arno, Southern France (with arrowhead), Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe
 * Vietnam: Defense, Counteroffensive Phases II III IV V VI VII, Tet Counteroffensive, Tet 69/Counteroffensive, Summer-Fall 1969, Winter-Spring 1970, Sanctuary Counteroffensive, Consolidations I II, and Cease-Fire
 * Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1965-1966
 * Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1968-1970
 * Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1966-1972
 * Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honours Medal, First Class, Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1970

Coat of Arms
Coat of Arms Distinctive Insignia
 * Shield: Vert, issuing from base a dexter forearm or grasping a wyvern's head erased gules fimbriated of the second.
 * Crest: On a wreath of the colours, or and vert, a tower of three merlons of the second, bearing crosswise four arrowheads of the first, all in front of a triangle of the like charges in base with three barrulets gules.
 * Motto: "Duty, Justice, and Honour".
 * Symbolism: Green and yellow are the colours used for the Military Police Corps. The hand represents the power and stregnth of the battalion in uprooting evil, symbolised by the wyvern.  The four arrowheads commemorate the assault landings of the organisation in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations during World War II, while the medieval tower is indicative of the unit's service in Europe.  The three horizontal red bars from the national flag of the Republic of Vietnam on a triangle alluding to the mountainous terrain of the II Corps and III Corps Tactical Zones in Vietnam, refer to service in the country.
 * The distinctive insignia is the shield and motto of the coat of arms.