Posted on 09/24/2002 11:50:08 PM PDT by Snow Bunny
Dog Tags Arlington National Cemetary is not the only resting place for "Unknown Soldiers." Countless American soldiers have died defending our way of life throughout the history of this great nation; many of their graves are marked with a single word,"unknown." The American Civil War (1861-1865) provided the first recorded incident of American soldiers making an effort to ensure that their identities would be known should they be killed on the battlefield. 42% of all Civil War dead remain unknown. Their methods varied, and all were taken on by the soldier's own initiative. In 1863, before the battle of Mine's Run in northern Virginia, troops wrote their names and units on paper tags and pinned them to their clothing. Many soldiers took great care in marking all of their personal belongings. Some troops made their own id tags out of wood, boring a hole in an end so that they could be worn on a string. The commercial sector saw the demand for an identificatuion method and provided products. Harpers Weekly Magazine advertised "Soldier's Pins" which could be mail ordered. Made of silver or gold, these pins were inscribed with an individual's name and unit designation. Private vendors who followed troops also offered id tags for sale just prior to battles. Soldiers also fashioned tags out of coins by scraping one side smooth and engaving or stamping name and unit.
Despite the fact that fear of being listed amoung the unknowns was a real concern among the rank and file, no reference to an official issue of identification tags by the Federal Government exists from the Civil War. The first official advocacy of issuing id tags took place in 1899. Chaplain Charles C. Pierce recommended that a "identity disc"be included in the standard combat field kit, though the first official introduction of one tag didn't happen until December of 1906. The Army Regulations of 1913 made a identification tag mandatory. In July of 1916 a second tag was added, and by 1917 all combat troops wore aluminum discs on rope or chain. In February of 1918 the official introduction of Serial Numbers started.
Next in the evolution of dog tags came what is known as the Navy/Marine style of tag (as seen above) a more oblong shape with more uniform printing. First made of brass and then a "Monel" metal (a patented corrosion-resistant alloy of nickel and copper, melded with small amounts of iron and manganese ) proved to be more corrosion resistant. In October of 1938 the start of tests for a new identification tags started, and by 1940 it was adopted.
By the early 70's the "notch" was removed to the present day tag. The United States Armed Forces is currently developing and testing a new tag , which will hold 80% of a soldiers medical and dentail records on a mircochip known by several names: The Individually Carried Record, Meditag, The Tactical Medical Coordination System and Personal Information Carriers (PIC). It is not intended to replace the present tag, but rather to augment it as part of the "paperless battlefield" concept.
Tags from Other Countries
Dog Tag Chains There have been several different types of chains used during the evolution of the U.S. dog tag, every thing from shoe laces to the current ball chain.
The Military has come a long way from |
Vought F4U Corsair
Vought XF4U-1
To the ears of American G.I.s clawing their way off the bloody beaches of Okinawa in April 1945, the sweetest sound in the world was the whistling war cry of a strangely proportioned aircraft called the Vought F4U Corsair.
The most important naval attack fighter of WWII, the Chance Vought Corsair remained in production for thirteen years.
The Corsair's most unique feature was the "bent" wing, the result of a marriage between the most powerful engine ever installed in a piston-engined fighter and one of the biggest propellers in the world. The inverted gull wing permitted the short, sturdy undercarriage required for carrier operations, allowed a low drag, 90 degree wing-fuselage junction, gave the pilot better visibility over the wing and lowered the overall height of the folded wing.
The Corsair's distinctive sound, which earned it among the Japanese the nickname of "Whistling Death", was caused by the wing-root inlets for the engine air.
A production contract was awarded to Chance Vought in June 1941 and the first production machine flew in June 1942 with a top speed of 415 mph, a sea-level climb rate of 3,120 ft/min and a service ceiling of 37,000 ft. The first carrier trials were carried out in September 1942 aboard the USS Sangamon.
Despite the hundreds of detailed demands contained in the specifications for the new fighter plane, the major design objective was speed - - and more speed; everything else was secondary. From the start of its design in June 1938 the paramount demand on the Corsair was that it be the fastest fighter ever built and this goal was achieved when the new plane became the first in the world to exceed 400 mph in level flight with full military equipment.
Two things are required to create the rare environment in which a seemingly ageless airplane can exist: 1.) It must be a very good airplane; and 2.) The peculiar economic or tactical situation into which it was borne must persist. The Vought Corsair met both of these environmental tests. It was one of the fastest propeller-driven airplanes in the world and its unmatched versatility included close air support abilities vital to a successful war effort.
The F4U Corsair was one of the great fighter plane designs of WWII. A rugged piece of flying machinery, it had the most durable production of all fighters of that day. From the first prototype delivery to the U.S. Navy in 1940, to final delivery in 1953 to the French, 12,571 F4U Corsairs had been manufactured by Vought.
First ordered into production in the fall of 1941, the Corsairs appeared in time for the bitter struggle in the southwest Pacific from Guadalcanal to VJ Day. Until late 1944, both Navy and the Marines had used the Corsair as a land-based fighter. In the final year of the war, the Corsair began operations from aircraft carriers, where it speedily ran up new spectacular scores.
F4U of VF-791 makes a series of vapor rings as it starts its take-off run laden with bombs from USS Boxer, CVA-21 in Korean waters, July 6, 1951.
The Vought Corsair is forever engraved in aviation history as the last - - and the finest - - propeller-driven combat airplane.
Each of the services made an airplane great in WWII and history can never forget the Air Force's Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the Navy's Grumman F6G Hellcat and - - most certainly the Marines' Vought F4U Corsair.
Excellent story about the Corsair, Magoo...
This may very well be the best closing lines I've seen, to date, for one of your Air Power posts!
LOL! Tom, you are not going to believe this: My dad was born in 1890. He was VERY old-fashioned when we were growing up. But one thing he was very strict about was bathing. Bathing more than once a year was bad for the health, so he didn't do it.
One year, we caught him bathing out of season. We were all going around, whispering to each other, "What's wrong with Dad?" "Is he going to the hospital?"
My youngest sister was about 4 at the time, and she piped up and said, "I know!" We all looked at her in amazement. "It's simple. I just told Daddy he STINKED."
LOL
Hi, Sis! : )
Fire Democrats, hire Republicans !!
GWB Is The Man !!
Snuff Saddam, NOW !!
Death To all Tyrant's !!
The Second Amendment...
America's Original Homeland Security !!
Freedom Is Worth Fighting For !!
Molon Labe !!
MoJo, this is a beautifully said prayer.
May you help those of us in the Canteen help bring joy, comfort, and peace for those that fight on our behalf.
Hear, hear! Thank you so much for this prayer this morning.
Hi JJ and Robbie!
The old man looked at the Marine, smiled, and said, "Oh, I understand. I just love hearing it." The Marine snapped to attention, saluted and said, "See you tomorrow, Sir.
I love hearing it too! Thanks.
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