In order to help collectors & re-enactors complete their impressions the correct way, I thought it might come
in handy to say a few words about Identification Tags, aka Dog Tags worn by U.S. Army personnel during World War II .
Several ‘groups’ and ‘specialists’ had specific prefixes on their
Identification Tags and, while dealing with the subject, I think a few more
notes on “Dog Tags” in general, would also help … as you know the sole purpose
of wearing Dog Tags is to enable positive identification of a casualty or remains, and to make a difference both for
families and authorities, should the person end up as being known but to God !
The Identification Tag was first introduced December 20, 1906 by General Order No. 24 which described it as follows: “… an aluminum Identification Tag, the size of a silver Half Dollar, stamped with the name, rank, company, regiment, or corps of the wearer; it will be worn by each Officer and enlisted man of the Army whenever the field kit is worn; it will be suspended from the neck, underneath the clothing by means of a cord or thong passed through a small hole in the tag; it is further described as being part of the uniform …” this tag will be issued by the Quartermaster Corps gratuitously to enlisted men and at cost price to the Officers !
BRIEF HISTORY| 20 DEC 1906 06 JULY 1916 12 FEB 1918 OCT 1938 |
official introduction of ONE Dog Tag official introduction of SECOND Dog Tag, i.e a full pair is now required official introduction of ARMY SERIAL NUMBER (too many identical names e.g. Brown, Jones, Williams …) start of tests related to introduction of new Identification Tag |
TAG, IDENTIFICATION, M-1940 - Stock No. 74-T-60
official stocklist number + nomenclature, adopted February 15, 1940 |
NECKLACE & EXTENSION Stock No. 74-N-300
official stocklist + nomenclature, adopted 1943 |
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Different manufacturers of
Identification Tag Neck Chains for servicemen, sterling silver chains (L) and smooth transparent nylon necklace (R) Click image to enlarge |
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Manufacturers of Identification Tag Necklaces, Napier Co., Meriden, Conn. (top) manufacturers of stainless steel chains with hooks & catches The Bead Chain Mfg. Co., Bridgeport, Conn. (bottom) manufacturers of bead type chains with coupling Click image to enlarge |
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cellophane wrapper for official Necklace & Extension, supplier is Sweet
Manufacturing Co., Attleboro, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Click image to enlarge |
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cellophane wrapper for Rayon Corded ID Tag Holder, rayon cord comes in
different 'branch' colors (see envelope) Click image to enlarge |
| INFORMATION | required data : name, serial number, date of tetanus inoculation, blood type, person to notify, religion; each Tag has enough capacity for 5 lines and provides 18 spaces per line; data are to be embossed by a special machine provided for that purpose |
EVOLUTION
1st type December 1940 - November 1941
| first line second line third line fourth line fifth line |
first name of soldier, second initial, surname |
CLARENCE R JONES |
note : first line (name of wearer) second line (Army Serial Number of wearer) third line (name of person to notify in case of emergency) fourth line (street address of person to notify in case of emergency) fifth line (city and state of person to notify in case of emergency)
2nd type November 1941- July 1943
| first line second line third line fourth line fifth line |
first name of soldier, second initial, surname | CLARENCE R JONES |
note : in case more space is required, such as indication of blood type AB, prefix T (tetanus) may be dropped, and only numerals will be retained (blood types indicated by : A – B – AB – O)
 ROBERT H REASONS 33263980 T42 A G. H. REASONS FLORENCE PA. P second type - steel tag - silver necklace (with hooks & catches) |  JENNINGS D BANNER 17000575 T41 B KATHLEEN E BANNER 214 E. 22ND. ST. N. LITTLE ROCK, ARK. P second type - monel tag - fine cotton necklace |  ALLEN N. LINDSAY 35499946 T42 GRACE LINDSAY 102 S. 39TH ST. LOUISVILLE KY. P second type - brass tag - fine transparent nylon necklace (note: irregular alignment, absence of blood type) |
3rd type July 1943 - March 1944
| first line second line fifth line |
first name of soldier, second initial, surname | CLARENCE R JONES |
note : address of next-of-kin eliminated July 20, 1943
| DARYL E MARTIN 37476878 T43-43 O P third type - stainless steel tag - bead type necklace |
4th type March 1944 - April 1946
| first line second line fifth line |
surname, first name, second initial | JONES CLARENCE R |
note : name sequence of wearer modified March 31, 1944
| FRANK, WOODROW W 37734891 T44 -45 O P fourth type - steel tag - steel necklace (with hooks & catches) |
 WAC Dog Tags TIPTON, THELMA A-906681 T43 44 A P fourth type - stainless steel tag - bead type necklace (WAC Enlisted Woman) |  WAC Dog Tags JANET P COLEMAN L - 918042 T43 O P third type - stainless steel tag - bead type necklace (WAC Officer) |  WO Dog Tags DONALD F MINNIS W-2108945 T43-45 A C third type - stainless steel tag - bead type necklace (Army Warrant Officer) |
 NURSE Dog Tags PERCIVAL, FLORA A. N743921 T42 43 O MR. G. D. PERCIVAL BOX 146 LUSK, WYO. P fourth type - monel tag - silver necklace (with hooks & catches) (Army Nurse Corps) |  FO Dog Tags OLIVER RALPH A T-6367 T42 A P fourth type - stainless steel tag - bead type necklace (Army Air Corps Warrant Officer, i.e Flight Officer) |
ARMY SERIAL NUMBERS
Army Serial Numbers (ASN) are part of an official
designation, and will appear in every military record, in which the name of the
holder appears, i.e. in all documents – so, special care should be taken that
the correct ASN be used at all times, since certain records are filed this way,
and payments and/or allowances are often settled by Army Serial Number, and not
by name – it is always used by servicemen, and, trust me, almost every Veteran
still remembers his individual Army Serial Number …
Regular Army (1940) start with digit 1, followed by a second
digit (indicating Corps Area/Service Cd) (there were 9 Corps Area for military administrative purposes, and 4 Army Areas
for strategical military purposes) 11130295, 13176244, 14130598, 16087357, 19005129
National Guard (1940)
Draftees (1940)
Commissioned Officers (1921)
Warrant Officers (1942)
Flight Officers (1942)
Army Specialist Corps (1942)
Army Nurse Corps (1921)
Hospital Dietitian +
Physical Therapist (1942)
Contract Surgeon (1941)
WAC (1943)
start with digits 20, followed by a third digit (indicating Corps Area/Service Cd)
20417243, 20468791, 20651726, 20900697, 20906536
start with digit 3, followed by a second digit (indicating Corps Area/Service Cd)
31130734, 31240869, 34834714, 35388430, 39407665 (these were draftees called up the Selective Training & Service Act)
start with prefix O, followed by hyphen + series of 1 > 6, even 7 digits (1921 box includes 1 to 99,999 -
1940 box starts with 23,000) O-57, O-742, O-3822, O-777657, O-1170276
start with prefix W, followed or not by hyphen + series of 7 digits, starting with 21
such as W 2101199, W-2118310, W-2129700, W 2125908, W 2133860 (while most ID Tags start with first
digits 21, other show different numbers, such as W-92186, W 901800, most probably Officers already
commissioned between the war years, 1920-1930)
start with prefix T, followed by a series of digits T-80, T 1846, T-6367, T-136265,
T 223076
start with prefix S, followed by a series of digits S 1038451
start with prefix N, followed by a series of 6 digits (box with group of 700.000)
N 702927, N-782136, N 795100, N-795163
HD start with prefix R, while PT start with prefix M, followed by a series
of digits R1076…
M749…
start with prefix CS, followed by a series of digits CS1257...
start with prefix L (officer) L-918042, A (soldier) A-205333 and V (W.O.) V-704827,
followed by a series of 6 digits, of which the first indicated the Service Cd
ASN O-1 John J. PERSHING (1860-1948) |
ASN O-57 Douglas A. McARTHUR (1880-1964) |
 ROBERT E. BUECHLER O666236 T42 O GEO F BUECHLER 2034 GANO AVE ST LOUIS MO P second type - monel tag - bead type necklace |  HARRY A RAIDER, JR O-364889 T42 A MRS. JOHN P WAGNER 1232 NO EDISON ST MILWAUKEE WIS. P second type - steel tag - bead type necklace |  HENRY E. KENDALL O-917083 T42-43 B P third type - steel tag - bead type necklace |
 SHERMAN KAMENS O-1108773 T42 43 AB H third type - steel tag - rayon necklace (with hooks) |  RANNEY, WILLIS E. O 237 049 T42-43 B C fourth type - steel tag - silver necklace (with hooks & catches) |
