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Home-dog tags
Dog Tags
History
Dog tags, in one form or another, have been worn
for identification purposes for centuries. In the United States, during
the Civil War, there are records of soldiers wearing notes pinned to
their coats that depicted their names and addresses. There were even
some soldiers who took the identification process a step further and
stenciled the pertinent identification information on their knapsacks
or scratched it in lead on the back of their Army belt buckle. As a
result, someone was perceptive and realized there was a need for
identification tags and started manufacturing them. The tags were then
advertised in magazines and newspapers.
Since the tags were used in the line of military duty, manufacturers
started to create them in the shape of a branch of military service and
engraved them with the soldier's name and unit.
The tags were also machine stamped and made of either brass or lead with
a hole punched on the top. One side of the tag usually contained an
eagle or shield and slogans such as "Liberty, Union and Equality." The
reverse side of the tag listed the soldier's name, unit and oftentimes a
list of the soldier's battles.
During the Spanish-American War soldiers bought simple identification
tags. The I.D. tags were first sanctioned by the U.S. Army in December
of 1906. The tag then became a required part of the uniform of any
officer and enlisted man of the Army. The tag was to be worn around the
neck suspended by a cord or thong passing through a small hole in the
tag, and placed underneath the clothing. The tag was described as an
aluminum identification tag, the size of a half dollar coin piece and
depicted the name, rank, company, regiment or corps of the wearer. When
the tag was not worn, it was to be kept in the possession of its owner.
As of 1916, all men in the Army were issued two tags: one to stay with
the body and one for record-keeping purposes that would go to the person
in charge of the burial.
In 1918 the serial number was adopted so that the tags would have
stamped on them the man's name and a serial number.
For identification purposes, the Army started using the person's Social
Security number in 1969.
The tags used in WWII had a notch on the side of the tag. The purpose of
the notch was so that the tag would be held in place on the embossing
machine. However, over the years a myth developed about the notch. It
was rumored that the tag contained a notch so that if a soldier
discovered the body of one of his buddies he would take one of the tags
to his commanding officer and kick the other between the teeth of the
soldier to make certain that the tag would stay in the body making
identification easier to establish.
Since the clanking of the metal dog tags could alert the enemy to the
soldier's location, U.S. soldiers have been required, in recent years,
to affix rubber silencers to their dog tags.
During the height of the Cold War in which the United States was
concerned about nuclear attack, all children in New York City's public
schools were issued dog tags.
The Army recently started referring to these dog tags as "I.D. tags."
In fact, it is rumored that some soldiers objected to the term "dog
tags" as being offensive, although this has not been confirmed. At any
rate, the term "I.D. tags" does seem more appropriate.
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