Dog tag

The earliest mention of an identification tag for soldiers comes in Polyaenus (Stratagems 1.17) where the Spartans wrote their names on sticks tied to their left wrists.

[4] During the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865, some soldiers pinned paper notes[5] with their name and home address to the backs of their coats.

In the Graphotype process, commonly used commercially from the early 1900s through the 1980s, a debossing machine was used to stamp characters into metal plates; the plates could then be used to repetitively stamp such things as addresses onto paper in the same way that a typewriter functions, except that a single stroke of the printer could produce a block of text, rather than requiring each character to be printed individually.

The Model 70 took advantage of this fact, and was intended to rapidly print all of the information from a soldier's dogtag directly onto medical and personnel forms, with a single squeeze of the trigger.

However, this requires that the tag being inserted with the proper orientation (stamped characters facing down), and it was believed that battlefield stress could lead to errors.

It appears instructions that would confirm the notch's mythical use were issued at least unofficially by the Graves Registration Service during the Vietnam War to Army troops headed overseas.

Originally worn as a part of a military uniform by youth wishing to present a tough or militaresque image, dog tags have since reached wider fashion circles.

They may be inscribed with a person's details, beliefs or tastes, a favorite quote, or may bear the name or logo of a band or performer.

Numerous companies offer customers the opportunity to create their own personalized dog tags with their own photos, logos, and text.

[22][23][24] Phrases inscribed on the purpose-made dog tags include "bring them home now," "7.10.23," and "הלב שלנו שבוי בעזה" (English: "our hearts are captive in Gaza").

These inscribed dog tags are sold in markets and online shops, often as part of fundraisers to benefit the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, or other similar causes.

The tag is designed to be broken into two pieces each with the following information stamped onto it: Additionally, the right hand side of each half-tag is engraved DANMARK (Danish for 'DENMARK').

The oval aluminum tag was stamped "DDR" (Deutsche Demokratische Republik) above the personal ID number; this information was repeated on the bottom half, which was intended to be broken off in case of death.

Oddly, the tag was not worn (but would have been in case of war), but required to be kept in a plastic sleeve in the back of the WDA ("Wehrdienstausweis") identity booklet.

Information consists of four fields: Example: In the Finnish Defence Forces, "tunnuslevy" or WWII term "tuntolevy" (Finnish for "Identification plate") is made of stainless steel and designed to be broken in two; however, the only text on it is the personal identification number and the letters "FI" or "SF" in older models, which stands for Suomi Finland, within a tower stamped atop of the upper half.

In WWI and WWII, French forces used a small oval-shaped disc of metal designed to be broken in half, worn at the wrist.

They feature the following information on segmented and numbered fields: On the front: On the back: Bundesamt für Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung of 2009-12-21 specifies shape, materials and characteristics for four parts:[31] The ID tag is landscape-oval, breakable in two halves with 4–8 manual bends.

On the backside each half is 0.2 mm deep marked with "DEU" for Deutschland, the non-magnetic type on both halves and both sides with "NM".

The Saddam-era Iraqi Army used a single, long, rectangular metal tag with oval ends, inscribed (usually by hand) with Name and Number or Unit, and occasionally Blood Type.

The information appears in three lines (twice): Recruits are issued with 2 Dogtags (4 halves total), one remains whole and worn on a necklace, and the second is broken into its halves and placed in each military boot for the purpose of Identifying dead soldiers (IDF Military Boots contain pouches on their inner sides at the 1/3 calf height, the pouches have holes corresponding in size and placement to those on the discs, allowing for fastening, often via small cable ties).

Includes soldier's first and last name, coded date and place of birth, identification number, religious affiliation, and blood group.

All personnel are allowed to attach a small religious pendant or locket; this makes a quick identifiable reference for their funeral services.

They are rectangular metal tags with oval ends, embossed with name, serial number, and blood type, plus Rh factor.

The new design consisted of an oval piece of metal (ideally steel, but in most cases aluminum alloy was used), roughly 40 by 50 millimeters.

Each tag contains the title ВС РОССИИ (Russian for 'Armed Forces of Russia') and the individual's alphanumeric number, as shown on the photo.

The South African National Defence Force use two long, rectangular stainless steel tags with oval ends, stamped with : The South Korean army issues two long, rectangular tags with oval ends, stamped (in Korean lettering).

They were stamped or inscribed with: During World War II, the Red Army did not issue metal dog tags to its troops.

[38] The U.S. Armed Forces typically carry two identical oval dog tags containing: During World War II, an American dog tag could indicate only one of three religions through the inclusion of one letter: "P" for Protestant, "C" for Catholic, or "H" for Jewish (from the word "Hebrew"),[45] or (according to at least one source) "NO" to indicate no religious preference.

[47] By the time of the Vietnam War, some IDs spelled out the broad religious choices such as PROTESTANT and CATHOLIC, rather than using initials, and also began to show individual denominations such as "METHODIST" or "BAPTIST".

[48] Although American dog tags currently include the recipient's religion as a way of ensuring that religious needs will be met, some personnel have them reissued without religious affiliation listed—or keep two sets, one with the designation and one without—out of fear that identification as a member of a particular religion could increase the danger to their welfare or their lives if they fell into enemy hands.