United States Army Institute of Heraldry

The United States Army Institute of Heraldry can trace its origins to 1919 when President Woodrow Wilson directed the War Department General Staff to create an Heraldic Program Office. The initial purpose of the office was to coordinate and approve of coats of arms, heraldic devices and ther insignia for United States Army organizations. By the end of World War II, its role had expanded to furnish such devices to the other military services; then in 1957, Public Law 85-263 directed the Secretary of the Army to further expand the office to provide heraldic services to all branches of the federal government.