William Beaumont Army Medical Center, US Army

WILLIAM BEAUMONT ARMY MEDICAL CENTER, US ARMY

Official blazon

Distinctive Unit Insignia. Description: A gold color metal and enamel device 1 1/4 inches (3.18cm) in height overall consisting of a blue demi-fleur-de-lis on top of the vertical arm of a maltese cross divided by gold partition lines into alternating quarters of white and maroon and charged at center with a gold annulet, and below the horizontal arms of the cross four stylized light brown mountain peaks two at either side of the vertical, all on a background of pointed gold rays issuant from center and supported in base by a blue wave terminating at the lower outside points of the horizontal arms of the cross.

Origin/meaning

The design symbolizes some of the highlights of the medical career of Dr. William Beaumont, the Center's namesake. The colors white and maroon are traditional to the Medical Department and the maltese cross comes from the Knights Hospitallers of medieval times as a symbol of the medical profession. The fleur-de-lis pointing north refers to Dr. Beaumont's assignment in 1820 to the Northern Michigan outpost of Fort Mackinac and to the young French-Canadian whom he treated there for a stomach wound which never closed, presenting Beaumont with a window through which he could study the workings of the human stomach; this incident is symbolized by the circular window at center of the cross, and the world wide acclaim he received for his work is signified by the gold rays of the background. The Center's location in El Paso, Texas is symbolized by the vertical arm of the cross passing between the stylized mountains (in reference to the English translation of El Paso as "the pass") and terminating upon the blue wave which represents the Rio Grande.

The Distinctive Unit Insignia was originally approved for the William Beaumont General Hospital on 31 December 1969. It was redesignated for the William Beaumont Army Medical Center on 15 August 1973.

Literature: Image from The Institute of Heraldry, US Army

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