A Gold color metal and enamel device 1 1/8 inches (2.86 cm) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Sanguine, a sword palewise entwined by two serpents with heads erect and respecting each other, all grasped by a dexter hand and couped at the wrist all Or. Attached below and to the sides of the shield a Gold scroll inscribed THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE in Black letters.
The shield is sanguine, the nearest heraldic tincture to maroon, to represent the Medical Department. The sword and serpents grasped by a hand symbolize the military and medical co-functions of the Battalion.
The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 53d Medical Battalion on 24 July 1941. It was redesignated for the 23d Medical Battalion on 28 February 1955. The insignia was amended to add a motto on 6 March 1968.