Korean War Dog Tags

Question 1

Why do people buy Korean War era Dog Tags?

Answer

Korea War Veterans replacing lost tags, Family members remembering loved ones, and historical re-enactors recreating replicas.

Veterans order replacement sets of Dog Tags because they have lost their originals, they have been 'borrowed' by family members, or they want to give sets to their family as a memento.
Family members and friends who want to create a little bit of history to celebrate and remember their loved ones.
Veterans who never received Dog Tags (i.e. reservists).
Historical re-enactors who are looking for period authentic uniforms.

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Question 2

Are these authentic Korean War Era Dog Tags?

Answer

At My Dog Tag we do not sell the actual antique monel Dog Tags that were originally issued to soldiers in the 40s and 50s. Rather ours are a modern replica made of stainless steel with the 'tooth' notch that you customize either using one of our templates or by creating your own layout using our Dog Tag generator.

Question 3

Why do some Korean War Era Dog Tags have notches?

Answer

The notch on the Dog Tag was there to align it on a handheld transcription machine (Model 70 Addressograph Patent) which was used by field medics to quickly transfer the soldier’s information onto paper medical forms or burial records. This is also the reason why Dog Tags in this era were debossed so that they became in effect the printing press to record information on paperwork using an ink ribbon. Notched Dog Tags were standard issue until December 1964 until the Department of Defense officially switched to Dog Tags without notches in early 1965. However, military bases with older notched-style tags in inventory still issued them for a while from 1965 up until 1966. Some soldiers colloquially refered to it as a "tooth notch".

Question 4

What is Debossed lettering?

Answer

This method presses the letters into metal so that that they are sunken below the surface (indented) into the Dog Tag. They allowed for making carbon copies of the soldier's information for medical records with the M70 Addressograph discussed above. Sometimes the letters would darken over time as the result of an accumulation of dirt and grime, which actually made the tags easier to read. This effect can be replicated on newly made tags, essentially speeding up the process that time naturally does, by rubbing in black shoe polish, letting it dry for 30 seconds, and then wiping the surface of the tag with a cloth. We offer this as an add-on service if you don't want to do it yourself. Debossed text is indeed harder to read than modern embossed (raised) text which is why the military switched to using embossing in the 1970s. For ease of reading, many of our veteran customers or their families will choose to have tags made using modern embossed text, even though it is not historically accurate to the original tags they are recreating.

Question 5

What does the T mean on a Korean War Era Dog Tag?

Answer

Dog Tags from WWII up until the Korean war included the year that a tetanus toxid vaccination shot was administered, in the format of T-## where the ## represents the year i.e. T-53.

Question 6

When were Dogtag silencers first used?

Answer

Original Dogtag silencers were 'home-made' by innovative G.I.'s during WWII by cutting the hose rings from discarded gas-masks. These 'home-made' latex rubber rings stretched and fit perfectly around their issued ID Dogtags and prevented them from 'clinking' together. See our irreverent video on the History of Dogtag silencers and their origin during WWII.