My ex-whatever - his grandmother and Dad each had a part of a finger CHOPPED off when they left Czechoslovakia to come to the USA. That was how you could “tell them apart” forever.
My great-grandfather came to the US from Slovakia as a young child. While researching my family I came across a 1917 military census that he was required to fill out. He stated that part of his thumb was missing. I’ve always wondered how that happened. Now I know.
yikes