The identification tag is issued to each soldier during induction
and carried with him (or her) at all times while in the armed services.
Tag styles changed frequently, below is the information that would have
appeared on tags in during years of induction stated.
| Comparison of dog tags used during the 808ers time in the army | |
|
Nov. 1941 - July 1943 1st line: First name, MI, Surname 2nd line: army serial number (8 spaces) tetanus immunization (spaces10-12) tetanus toxoid (spaces 14>15) blood type (space 18) 3rd line name next of kin 4th line address (number, street next of kin) 5th line address (city and state of kind) religion (space 18) The content of the tag would have looked like this: John C. Doe 14337566 T42 43 O James Doe 1800 Pennsylvania Ave. Cincinnati Ohio C |
July 1943 - March 1944 1st line: First Name, MI, Surname 2nd line: army serial number tetanus immunization tetanus toxoid blood type 5th line religion The content of the tag would have looked like this: John C. Doe 14337566 T42 43 O P |
War Department Pamphlet 21-13, Army Life, 10 August 1944 states:
Always wear your Identification Tags . These are considered part of your uniform, and your Officers may ask you to show that you are wearing them at any time on or off the Post.
AR 600-40, Section III, 31 March 1944 further indicates:
Identification Tags will be worn by each member of the Army at all times and may be removed temporarily ONLY as the necessities of personal hygiene may require; one Tag to be suspended from the neck underneath the clothing by a 25-inch noncorrosive, nontoxic, and heat-resistant material looped to form a necklace, and the second Tag fastened to the necklace below the first Tag by a 2 ½-inch extension of material similar to the necklace .
The Tags, embossed as provided in AR 600-35, Section VI, will be issued to each member of the Army as soon as practicable after entry into service …
War Department Circular N° 262, December 19, 1941, stipulated:
One Tag to be suspended from the neck underneath the clothing by a cord or tape 40 inches in length passed through the small hole in the Tag, the second Tag to be fastened about 2 ½ inches above the first one on the same cord or tape, both securely held in place by knots.
FM 10-63, Graves Registration, 15 January 1945 also states:
One of the
two Identification Tags, worn as prescribed in Army Regulations will be
attached to the remains when buried . This includes any and all
burials in the Theater of Operations – the first battlefield
burial as well as the burial into a temporary cemetery for
subsequent, final disposition .
The duplicate (i.e. second) Tag will be
removed at time of burial and attached securely to the grave marker
about 2 inches from the top.
In
battlefield burials, when Identification Tags are missing,
identification should be made by members of the organization of the
deceased . Positive identification obtained should be made of record and
a copy of same placed in a canteen, bottle or other container, and
buried with the body.
If one Tag is missing, the remaining Tag will be
buried with the body and the grave marker, marked with the name, grade
and Army serial number, until a substitute Tag is made.
In case there is no Tag at all (both are missing), all available
identifying data should be recorded on two slips of paper, each placed
in a separate bottle or in the most practical container available, and
buried six inches below the surface of the ground, centered at the head
of the grade (this information is later reproduced on a metal label by
means of an embossing machine, and attached to the marker by personnel
of the Graves Registration Service).
