USO Canteen FReeper Style... Dog Tags... September 25, 2002

FRiends of the USO Canteen and Snow Bunny

[Snow Bunny]

Dog Tags
Past, Present and Future

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.

A 18 x 35 mm German silver pin Spanish-American War dog tag from 1898. It contained unit, company and individual number.

An ID tag made from a coin

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. 

An aluminum WWI set with Serial Number on back
Two-time winner of the Metal of Honor USMC SgtMaj Dan Daly's tag	WWI USMC Lt.Gen Holland Smith's brass tag
An example of the stamping set used on early tag sets.

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.

The M-1940 "notched" dog tag

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.

The yellow TacMedCS being tested by the Marines uses radio frequency technology, electronics and global-positioning systems to pin-point wounded.

The black rubber encased PIC is currently under DoD testing.

Tags from Other Countries

A Czarist Russia, WWI tags aid to be found at the 1914 Tannenburg site.	A French WWI bracelet id tag	British WWI ,brass, Dog Tag
An Austrian WWI brass locket with paper information inside with the owner's name engraved on the outside

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.

Early 1940's monofilament plastic with metal ends, yellowed with age.	simple rope	1943 issue cord
These two types solved the major problem with soft cord, metal chains will withstand fire, above is a reprint of a quartermaster manual showing the first of the metal chain set with what are referred to as sister hooks small clasps on the end of the chains.

This silver set was favored by officers

The Military has come a long way from
hanging pieces of wood around our necks.

[firewalk]

Thanks for taking the time to post flowers everyday Tonkin.


Thanks for putting so much work into these threads SnowBunny

[SAMWolf]

F4U-Corsair Bump.

While aboard USS BATAAN, the "Checkerboards" became the first piston engine squadron to shoot down a jet aircraft, when Captain Jesse Folmar shot down a MIG-15 jet fighter with 20mm cannon fire.

"Angels of Okinawa"

USMC Ace Archie Donahue downs a Kamikaze during the Okinawa campaign



"Night Victory"



"Imperial Sacrifice"

April 7th. 1945. The Imperial Japanese battleship Yamato on a one way suicide mission to reinforce the embattled garrison on Okinawa, is attacked by Corsairs from the U.S.S. Intrepid. Lt. Hal Jackson and a fellow pilot of VBF-10, attempt to evade the deadly anti-aircraft fire from the sinking ship.



"Gunfight Over Rabaul"

Marine corps F4U Corsairs of VMF-214 (Black Sheep sqdn.) dogfight with Japanese Zeros, while flying escort for a B-24 raid on Rabaul in the fall of 1943.

[SAMWolf]

You sure have a way with words Tom, very well said.

[SAMWolf]

[Kathy in Alaska]

5. A photographic memory but with the lens cover glued on.

My favorite. You guys have sure got some good jokes today. Thanks for sharing.

[SAMWolf]

[Kathy in Alaska]

I want a real one! That is so cool.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thank you for today's history of the USS Chicago.

[Jen]

What a terrific idea for a thread. Of course I still have my Air Force dog tags! What veteran doesn't? They are in a safe place so I will never lose them and someday my kids or future grandkids will have them as a memento of mom/grandma's military service.

I found this web site - www. vietnamdogtags.com - and think everyone will enjoy it.

Excerpts from: Vietnam, A Personal Journey

My name is Stacey. I am 33 years old and have been a Firefighter with a West Coast City for the past 4 years; a paramedic for 8. I have had the fortunate opportunity of coming into contact with many Veterans, most now on the brink of retirement. I feel extremely honored to have heard some of your courageous and painful stories...

It is in part, for this reason that I found myself wanting to do "something" for the Veterans of Vietnam. To, somehow, help this forgotten generation of a very volatile time...

Eventually, the time and opportunity presented itself to travel to Vietnam...

One day soon after I arrived, I went to the Independence Palace (the place where the first Communist tanks rushed the iron gates back in 1975)...

Downstairs, in the palace, I saw for the first time, Military Identification Tags ..."Dog Tags." I stood there for a long time just looking at them disconcertingly. Then, with my hands, I motioned to the Vietnamese girls behind the counter. They didn't speak an ounce of english, but understood that I was asking to look at the tags in the case. I wondered if they were real?...

I thought they must be real, for the country was not saturated with tourism at all. English speaking people were hard to come by, and I didn't feel there were enough tourists for the tags, specifically, to be mass produced in an effort to generate revenue. The tags looked old, tattered, soiled, bent and rusted. There were not many of them. I bought them all.

It was difficult not to buy the other remnants... As I walked outside, my steps slowed. I took one of the tags out and looked at it closely as the traffic whizzed by. Suddenly, it dawned on me...maybe THIS was what I could do for the Veterans. Something so small and yet it was "something." That day, I decided to search for as many tags as I could find in the weeks to come. Even if they were not genuine, the optimist in me said, there had to be at least one tag that was real. And, if I could find that ONE family and return the tag, somehow everything up to this point would be worth it...

---

Please read the whole story - it's definitely worth it - and look at the lists of names of veterans whose dog tags Stacey has collected that are waiting to be returned to the veteran or family member.

[Jen]

Free Republic in general, and the USO Canteen specifically, represent important, maybe even crucial, threads in the fabric of Freedom.

Yes they do! Thank you Tom for being part of our Canteen family. I appreciate you and your inputs so much. And I love your poems!

[Jen]

Special Dedication to our Military Members and Veterans
for Protecting and Defending our Country

"Hero" by Mariah Carey

MIDI version

MP3 version

And then a hero comes along with the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside and you know you can survive
When you feel like hope is gone, look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth - that a hero lies in you!

[Jen]

Wow, what a great airplane! Isn't that the plane from Pappy Boyington's Black Sheep Squadron?

[SAMWolf]

Yep. It sure is!

"Black Sheep Over Rabaul"

Pappy Boyington's VMF-214 Black Sheep squadron on a mission against Rabaul.

[where's_the_Outrage?]

Was once told by my commander Keep your dog tags together.

Unfortunately, I had to have him explain it. Seems that servicemen are provided 2 tags, one to be kept on the large chain, the other on the short chain.

So when a serviceman is killed in combat and has to be left behind, you're supposed to take the Tag on the short chain, and put the other tag in the casualties mouth. Then turn in the short chain tag for accountability.

So by keeping your tags together, you aren't a KIA.

[SAMWolf]

[SAMWolf]

We used to lace up one dogtag on our boot.

[Johnny Gage]

Jen,
I firmly believe that this story deserves its own thread.

I'm asking that you please post this as a separate story so we can all bump it, and get maximum exposure for it.

I for one will be emailing this off to some people I know who are, or know Vietnam Vets.

[Soaring Feather]

Thank you souris for posting this heart warming story.

I have my Uncle Fran's dog tags from WW II, he was on a Navy Destroyer, The USS FOGG. The FOGG was torpeoed.
Thank the Lord he returned to us all in one piece to live many years. I adored the man, he was surrogate father to my brothers and me.

[MeekOneGOP]

I love coffee, I love tea......

LOL! That's a one to me......