The 40th Armor Regiment Coat of Arms is in two parts. One the crest is on top and was made after World War Two because it reflects service during the war. The bottom is the shield and it was made in 1943.
The crest is an iron grate with eight openings that stands for Troop E 87th Cavalry. It was assigned to the Seventh Armor Division and broken up into four platoons and assigned as assualt gun sections to the other four recon cavalry troops.
The two chains have eleven links each. They represent the eleven companies that came out of the 40th Armored Regiment. Headquarters for the 40th Tank Battalion and 709th Tank Battalion are the loops. Companies A,B,C, D of both battalions and Troop E 87 Recon Troop. There are two sets because that is how many battalions can be seeded from those companies under the Army Regimental system.
Th Lion represents the 40th Tank Battalion that was part of the Seventh Armor Division. This unit fought as part of the British Army on two occasions during the war and that is why the Lion.
The tree represents the 709th Tank Battalion. This unit fought at the battle of the Hurtgen Forest .
The shield represents the 40th Tank battalion in that it took the regiment's name just like a family crest. The sword represents Ascalon the name of Winston Churchill's airplane that make refrence to a medievil sword myth. The T Rex represents Teddy Roosevelt because of TR.
When they designed it in 1943 they knew it was going to the Seventh Armor Division and it is a reference to the British 7th Armoured Divison. That was really their first but they numbered it 7th. This was the unit that mentored American Armor in North Africa.
Why Churchill and Roosevelt? They were both Secretary of the Navy and Lord of the Admiralty of thier countries but more important both were cavalry officers as well.
The fact they used a Rough Riders area to seed a Reserve unit no doubt played a part in this.
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