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My Father's Dog Tags Turned Up Today

AGBF

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An aide who was cleaning in our basement today found my father's dog tags from World War II. At first I didn't believe they were his real dog tags. I couldn't believe they were still around and, if they were, that they would just have been left floating around somewhere on a workbench. Then they seemed terribly lightweight. I had always imagined dog tags to be heavier. But as I studied them they had information (like an old address) that seemed terribly old-fashioned. The chain was also very old, very blackened. There were two of them. I realized that they were authentic. My parents had been married in October of 1941, right before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, so my mother was listed on dog tag as his next of kin. Then his serial number was on there. I remember that when I was a child he used to recite it, saying he would never forget it.

My father was still in college in 1941. He graduated in January of 1942 and enlisted in the army. He served until he was demobilized in 1946, seeing service in England (waiting for the invasion of Europe) and France. I was quite moved to see the dog tags. It was tactile evidence that my father's body might have had to be identified by those tags. He was not on the front lines; he was in The Signal Corps. But he traversed the Atlantic in a troop ship while there was warfare. He lived in Liverpool and London while England was under attack (and vividly recalled the buzz bombing of London). And he was not far behind the first troops entering Paris (not to mention being in a vehicle struck by lightning while he and some other soldiers were making candle sticks out of shells). So he was at risk. ;))

Deb :wavey:
 
What a great thing to find. I've always been sort of fascinated with dog tags; my husband gave me his after he got out/right before we got married (17 yrs ago). I keep them in my jewelry box.

They're like a tangible piece of history, and so personal. I'm glad you have your father's, and that you shared part of his history with us today.
 
I am so glad they were found Deb. They are a very special piece of your father's history that you can hold in your hand.
 
Cool.
I still have mine.
It's kinda creepy my SSN is on them. :errrr:
I wonder if they still do that with all the privacy and identity theft concerns these days.

They stamp in your religion so they know which chaplain to call.
I told them atheist but they wouldn't stamp that.
They stamped: OTHER :roll:

They give you two.
One is on a small chain, which goes onto the long necklace chain.
The extra one is to kick into your teeth on the battlefield to identify the body. :knockout:
I wonder if they still do that or if that was just a boot camp rumor.
 
Its amazing they turned up, I'm so glad you found them while your dear dad is still kicking up the dirt!
 
That's great!

Interesting info about your dad.
Interesting info about Kenny.
 
HI:

Cool!!!

cheers--Sharon
 
kenny|1488475977|4135584 said:
Cool.
I still have mine.
It's kinda creepy my SSN is on them. :errrr:
I wonder if they still do that with all the privacy and identity theft concerns these days.

They stamp in your religion so they know which chaplain to call.
I told them atheist but they wouldn't stamp that.
They stamped: OTHER :roll:

They give you two.
One is on a small chain, which goes onto the long necklace chain.
The extra one is to kick into your teeth on the battlefield to identify the body. :knockout:
I wonder if they still do that or if that was just a boot camp rumor.


I know that DH's has his SSN, but this was not exactly recent (21ish years ago?). I remember that they have his blood type on them, and I *think* his says "other" for religion also :)

He also told me the same thing about identification, I've always remembered that.

Now I feel the urge to go look at his dog tags...I will when I have a second.
 
katharath|1488494756|4135742 said:
kenny|1488475977|4135584 said:
Cool.
I still have mine.
It's kinda creepy my SSN is on them. :errrr:
I wonder if they still do that with all the privacy and identity theft concerns these days.

They stamp in your religion so they know which chaplain to call.
I told them atheist but they wouldn't stamp that.
They stamped: OTHER :roll:

They give you two.
One is on a small chain, which goes onto the long necklace chain.
The extra one is to kick into your teeth on the battlefield to identify the body. :knockout:
I wonder if they still do that or if that was just a boot camp rumor.


I know that DH's has his SSN, but this was not exactly recent (21ish years ago?). I remember that they have his blood type on them, and I *think* his says "other" for religion also :)

He also told me the same thing about identification, I've always remembered that.

Now I feel the urge to go look at his dog tags...I will when I have a second.
I asked BFF who has just celebrated her 20th year in the Army. Your SSN is still on your dog tags. She was sure to say they are to be kept hidden and are the person's responsibility.

Deb, very touching find. <3
 
Thank you for sharing about your own experience, kenny. I also thank all of you who shared about your husbands and friends. I did want to mention that since I am eternally skeptical, before I completely accepted my father's dog tags as authentic, i did a little research on the internet. I looked up what dog tags issued in 1942 and 1943 looked like. Unlike those issued in many other years, they did not list blood type or religion. I did not, until I read this thread, know that any dog tags ever listed social security numbers! During World War II social security was, of course, a very new invention. I doubt that people were used to having social security numbers!

So my father's dog tags listed his name; the address he had when he enlisted; his serial number; and his next of kin.

I really thank those of you who have contributed to this thread.

Deb :wavey:
 
That's so cool Deb. I am glad they were found.
 
kenny|1488475977|4135584 said:
They give you two.
One is on a small chain, which goes onto the long necklace chain.
The extra one is to kick into your teeth on the battlefield to identify the body. :knockout:
I wonder if they still do that or if that was just a boot camp rumor.

Very cool, Deb!

kenny, I was curious about the bolded part, and it turns out it's not true, just how the tags were made during that period. http://www.snopes.com/military/notch.asp
 
Thanks Rubybeth.
 
BTW, I didn't know tags ever had a notch.

Here are mine ... vintage 1970s and there's no notch.

Also, mine do not have my address.
Mine has:
Name
SSN
Branch of service
Blood Type
Religion

dog_tags.png
 
Although I researched the early World War II dog tags, I wasn't savvy enough to decipher everything that was on my father's dog tags at first. Now I realize that the dates of his tetanus shots (their expiration); his blood type; and his religion were indeed on his dog tags. The blood type was just represented by one letter, as was his religion, though. I had not known where to look for it. I had assumed that the tetanus shot dates were part os his serial number. Below is an explanation of how the dog tags of the World War II era were organized. It comes from this website:

http://www.mooremilitaria.com/moore-militaria-dog-tag-formats.html

Dog Tags
There are numerous styles and subtle changes made to dog tags from WWII through Vietnam. In this section, we will attempt to show the "most common" style for different time periods. The main difference is the use of a "notched" tag or of a "regular" tag. The notched were used from WWII until about 1964 when the regular tag was adopted. All tags are based on 5 lines of information with a maximum of 17 characters / spaces per line.
WWII - Notched
In WWII, the Army Service Number consisted of 8 digits based on status and geographic location. Also of importance is the fact that there is no Rhesus factor on the blood type ( + or - ) as this technology did not exist at the time. For religious preference, the tags were marked C (Catholic), P (Protestant), H (Hebrew) or left blank for no preference.
WWII Style 1 (November 1941 to July 1943)
Shop Now
First Name, MI, Last Name JOHN D SMITH
Army Serial #, tetanus dates, blood type 12345678 T42 43 A
Next of Kin JANE SMITH
Street Address for Next of Kin 3456 ANY STREET
City & State and Religious Preference ANYTOWN, TX P

Deb :wavey:

wwii_style_1_november_1941_to_july_1943_.jpg
 
We were posting at the same time, kenny. Thank you very much for putting your actual dog tags up there. I do not have a working camera and cannot take a picture of the ones here. I do know that the they stopped using the notch ( from my reading). I am not sure what it was for in the first place, however! I also have read that one can buy a "silencer" for one's dog tags. I guess that is because one doesn't want the enemy to hear you clanging up behind them? At first I had no idea what a "silencer" was, either!

Deb
 
OK...the plot thickens. The notch had no purpose at all once the dog tags were made. Its only purpose was to aid in the embossing of the tags in the olden days. As you said: fascinating. Now let's talk chains and "silencers". When I saw your dog tags, kenny, I didn't notice the chain. I only noticed it after reading the snopes link and going back to look at them again. You have a chain with the little roll of balls. My father's chain is made of very small round links. According to snopes, that was supposed to keep the tags silent on its own. When I pick them up, I hear clinking and clanging, though. Maybe against a soldier's chest, inside clothing, it isn't like waving them around in the air!

Deb
 
Wow, what a great find Deb. How amazing to know your dad wore those during some very perilous days. I would be thrilled beyond words to find a treasure like that. Other stuff our parents leave behind is just stuff, but those would have meant something to him if he continued to remember his number for so many years.


Kenny, I didn't know you had served. Thank you for posting your tags and for your service. It is a sacrifice not many want to make today. At least my own boys didn't. They talked about it and in the end never did it. I am impressed by those who do.
 
My pleasure and honor.
It was a wonderful six years of active duty.
 
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