page_title: Dog tag
section_title: World War I
hierarchical_section_title: Dog tag / History / World War I
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Erkennungsmarke des Vaters Georg Redeker George Redeker Münder a./Deister. Angerstr. 1. 4. 10. 94. Ers(t). Batl. K.A.G. G. R. 1. 6.K. Nr. 1650. Inf. Regt. 408. 10.K. Nr. 184. - siehe auch / also see: http://www.europeana1914-1918.eu/de/contributions/736
context_page_description: "Dog tag" is an informal but common term for a specific type of identification tag worn by military personnel. The tags' primary use is for the identification of casualties; as such, they have information about the personnel written on them, and convey essential basic medical information such as their blood type and history of inoculations. They often indicate religious preference as well.
  Dog tags are usually fabricated from a corrosion-resistant metal. They commonly contain two copies of the information, either in the form of a single tag that can be broken in half, or as two identical tags on the same chain. This purposeful duplication allows one tag, or half-tag, to be collected from a personnel's dead body for notification, while the duplicate remains with the corpse if the conditions of battle prevent it from being immediately recovered. The term arose and became popular because of the tags' resemblance to animal registration tags.
context_section_description: The British Army introduced identity discs in place of identity cards in 1907, in the form of aluminium discs, typically made at regimental depots using machines similar to those common at fun fairs, the details being pressed into the thin metal one letter at a time.
  Army Order 287 of September 1916 required the British Army provide all soldiers with two official tags, both made of vulcanised asbestos fibre (which were more comfortable to wear in hot climates) carrying identical details, again impressed one character at a time. The first tag, an octagonal green disc, was attached to a long cord around the neck. The second tag, a circular red disc, was threaded on a 6-inch cord suspended from the first tag. The first tag was intended to remain on the body for future identification, while the second tag could be taken to record the death.
  British and Empire/Commonwealth forces (Australia, Canada, and New Zealand) were issued essentially identical identification discs of basic pattern during the Great War, Second World War and Korea, though official identity discs were frequently supplemented by private-purchase items such as identity bracelets, particularly favoured by sailors who rightly believed the official discs were unlikely to survive long immersion in water.
  The U.S. Army first authorized identification tags in War Department General Order No. 204, dated December 20, 1906, which essentially prescribes the Kennedy identification tag:
  An aluminum identification tag, the size of a silver half dollar and of suitable thickness, stamped with the name, rank, company, regiment, or corps of the wearer, will be worn by each officer and enlisted man of the Army whenever the field kit is worn, the tag to be suspended from the neck, underneath the clothing, by a cord or thong passed through a small hole in the tab. It is prescribed as a part of the uniform and when not worn as directed herein will be habitually kept in the possession of the owner. The tag will be issued by the Quartermaster's Department gratuitously to enlisted men and at cost price to officers.
  The U.S. Army changed regulations on July 6, 1916, so that all soldiers were issued two tags: one to stay with the body and the other to go to the person in charge of the burial for record-keeping purposes. In 1918, the U.S. Army adopted and allotted the service number system, and name and service numbers were ordered stamped on the identification tags.
caption: A World War I German army dog tag indicating Name, place of birth, battalion, unit and serial number
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