World War II Dog Tags

Question 1

Why do people buy WWII era Dog Tags?

Answer

WWII 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 who served.
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

Why do some WWII 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 3

What does the T mean on a WWII 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. T43. The subsequent vaccination booster shot usually followed one year later at which point it would also be added to the tag.

Question 4

Why were 4 different Dog Tag formats used in WWII?

Answer

Recognizing that the world was heading to war in 1939 the US Army wanted a better system to identify their soldiers. Up until then the Dog Tags used during and since WW1 were variations on a round tag made of aluminum and then later Monel, a metal alloy. The information stamped (mostly by hand) was usually limited to the soldier’s name and serial number. The new Dog Tags called for in 1939 were machine embossed on Monel based on commercial store credit plates, developed by the Addressograph-Multigraph Corporation of Cleveland, that could transfer information from the tags to paper records using carbon pages. The size and shape of the new Dog Tags could hold much more information than the previous styles. The notch of the Dog Tag was designed to align and hold the Dog Tag in place in a hand held printer called the Model 70 Addressograph which was used in the field to quickly transfer the soldier's name and serial number to medical and other paper based records.

Question 5

What metals were WWII Dog Tags made of?

Answer

During this era the Dog Tags were made from a variety of metals, often changing as a result of wartime resource rationing. Regulations initially called for the tags to be made of Monel which is a nickel-copper alloy that had a yellowish tinge to it because of the copper. As these metals were in high demand during the war access to Monel became limited and tags were made of number of different metals such as brass and stainless steel. During WW2 the US Army switched from using yellow Monel, which was higher in copper, to white monel, more nickel less copper, and then exclusively to stainless steel as war supply demands changed the availability of different metals.

Question 6

What types of Dog Tags necklaces were used in WWII?

Answer

Originally Dog Tags were issued with a variety of fabric materials for use as necklaces such as Cotton Herringbone Twill tape. A specialized linked curb chain for tags was produced which had two sets of J-clasps aka Sister-Hooks that would clamp around the hole in each Dog Tag and suspend one below the other. It require 2 hands to open and close the clasp. Beaded ball chains became available for optional purchase in the quartermaster supply shops and soldiers began to prefer them over the J-clasps. A fatter ball chain was eventually replaced by a smaller ball chain that quickly became the standard that is still used today.

Question 7

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.

Question 8

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.