Red dog tags military meaning license#

Though the tags for the various branches differed slightly at the beginning as did the tags used during different wars, the look and design that we know today was eventually standardized during WWII to be the recognizable rounded corner rectangle that is still used today.

Red dog tags military meaning license#

The other more likely reason for the name is simply the similarity to the useful and convenient ID tags people put on their dogs with no deeper significance.ĭog tagging and license laws had been in effect since the days of Thomas Jefferson.The first one originates from WWII days and suggests that soldiers were treated like dogs, so these tags symbolized that thought.Though there is speculation about why these ID tags are called “dog tags,” there are two main ideas about why these tags are named as they are: soldiers in all branches of the military wore an ID tag. It began with the Army and continued through other military branches until 1917, after which all U.S. It would not be until 1906 that this went into effect with the production of a half-dollar-sized circular tag stamped with the soldier’s name, rank, company, and regiment or corps that was to be worn around the neck on a string or chain. With the problem of identifying war dead still a concern by the end of the Spanish-American war, the request to create a soldier ID tag was finally made in 1899. Identification pins and badges made by private companies came into production during this era however, this was not an official solution and not every soldier could afford one. It highlighted a need to create a system by which no soldier serving in any war would ever again be buried as an unknown. Yet most of the recovered bodies without notable identification were buried as unknown soldiers. Some pinned notes inside their clothing or backpacks while others carried coins or bits of wood with their names carved in. There was no technology available to test DNA as can be done today and no standard identification method in place for soldiers to practice themselves. The Issue of Identifying Fallen Soldiersĭuring the American Civil war, identifying the war dead was a problem that had no good solution at that time.

The dog tags worn by soldiers in the Vietnam war and other wars throughout the years are a recognizable symbol of the American GI.Īs memorable as they are, many people do not understand their meaning or why soldiers wear them.ĭog tags are much more than just military identification and a memento of a soldier’s service.įrom the day of their inception, these bits of metal hold the important responsibility of helping to get fallen soldiers home again should the worst happen while in active duty.