I know this is an old thread but I thought I'd add my 2 cents. Some of the answers given are close but not quite right. My dad was a young second lieutenant in Company A of the 44th when it shipped to Japan in late August or early September 1950 on their way to Korea. They stayed in Japan (Camp Fuchinobe) for about 30 days to get equipped before landing at Inchon. He told me that a Lt Colonel (I forget the name) came up with the Broken Heart name and they painted it on all their equipment to make it easily identifiable. He came up with the name because they were broken hearted that they had to go to Korea (many were reservists). Once in Korea they painted it on all their project signs as well as their equipment. He told me that in addition to "broken hearted" the sign was also lovingly known as the "busted ass" and ultimately showed up all over Korea from Pusan to Hungnam because they moved around along doing bridge and road work.
