200th Coast Artillery (AA) Coat of Arms

Shield: An Avanyu sable. The Avanyu, three arms embowed conjoined at the shoulders, each ending in a triangular head bearing five points. Crest: On a wreath of the colors or sable, a coiled rattlesnake. Motto: Pro Civitate Et Patria (for State and Country)

Returned from Federal Service to state control at the close of the first World War, New Mexico’s Infantry Regiment was reorganized into the 111th Cavalry, 120th Engineers (less 1st Battalion) and Battery A, 158th Field Artillery in 1920 and 1921. The 111th Cavalry was renamed the 207th Coast Artillery (Anti-aircraft) in 1939, but New York protested, wanting to keep their famed World War I unit number, and so, in 1940, the Regiment became the 200th Coast Artillery, retaining the regimental insignia of the 111th Cavalry.

The Coat of Arms is a shield with a figure known as the Avanyu which represents happiness and prosperity and used by the ancient Cliff Dwellers of New Mexico with many traditions built up around it. The snake which appears on the State Seal is a classical symbol of wisdom and the diamond back is native to New Mexico. Since the original white settlement within the state was of Spanish origin, the wreath is accordingly gold and red. The snake and wreath also symbolize participation in the early Spanish and Indian wars by the volunteer cavalry of New Mexico of which the 111th Cavalry was its successor.

Information Source: “History National Guard of New Mexico 1606-1963”, John Pershing Jolly.

515th Coast Artillery (AA) Coat of Arms

Devise: A flaming sword behind a gold stylized Philippine Sun bearing a red annulet issuing dual parallel rays per saltire, all within two gold sea lions at each side facing out and in reverse to one another, looped tails conjoining with the ends of three horizontal wavy blue bars, and paws grasping a red scroll arced across the top and bearing the inscription, “Guardian of the Flame.”

Symbolism: The sea lions derive from the Arms of Luzon, where the Regiment served in World War II. The three wavy blue bars symbolize the three Presidential Unit Citations awarded for Manila, Bataan, and defense of the Philippines. The Philippine Sun signifies the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation. The annulet and rays per saltire represent the sun, or Zia symbol, on the State flag of New Mexico.

	Information Source: “Beyond Courage, One Regiment Against Japan, 1941-45” by Dorothy Cave.
	Illustration by Ted Jojola, Ph.D.