Stamped Out

History of Dog Tags

This is a brief history of dog tags.  As we get more time and information this page will continue to be updated.  Please keep checking back.

Pre-1900's

    No official tags were issued.  Soldiers had to provide for their own identification.

1862

    A New Yorker named John Kennedy wrote to the US Army in 1862, offering to furnish discs for all officers and men in the Federal Army, enclosing a design for the disc. The National Archives now has the letter along with the reply, a summary refusal without explanation.

1898

    Spanish- American war started to see standardization of tag shapes.

1899

    During the Philippine Insurrection, the first official advocacy for systemic use of identification tags took place. Army Chaplain Charles C. Pierce was tasked with establishing the Quartermaster Office of Identification in the Philippines and he recommended that an identify disc be included in each soldier’s combat kit.

December 20, 1906

    War Department General Order No. 204 states "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 ..."  This is the first time each soldier get his own government-provided identification tag.

1913

    Army Regulations requires the tag to be worn at all times.

July 06, 1916

    Government starts issuing two tags for each soldier.  Now they have a pair, one stays with the body and the other goes to the person in charge of the burial for record keeping purposes.

May 12, 1917

    General Order No. 294 sent out by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels requires tags to be issued to Navy personnel.

February 12, 1918

    Official introduction of the Army Service Number.  There are just too many John Smiths to keep straight.  Service Number 1 was assigned to enlisted man Arthur B. Crean of Chicago in the course of his fifth enlistment period.

1936

    William Randolph Hearst tried to undermine support of President Roosevelt's Social Security plan and reelection by alleging that all citizens would have to wear a metal tag with their Social Security Number (SSN) on it and also have to fill out questionnaires asking personal information. This story was not true, but the idea had come up before. 

    When trying to figure out how to issue a SSN to people, one idea was the use of SSN Nameplates.  Commissioner Altmeyer didn't like the idea and vetoed it as soon as it came across his desk.  The Addressograph Co. wanted to get more business from the government and went as far as making a sample tag for Commissioner Altmeyer.  This is the one and only SSN tag ever made.  It currently resides in Baltimore at the Social Security Administration Headquarters museum.

October 1938

    Military starts developing a new identification tag.

1940

    The M-1940 Identification Tag (Stock Number 74-T-60) is issued to troops.

1943

    Necklace and Extension sets (Stock Number 74-N-300) are issued by the military.  The ball chain has finally become the standard necklace.

1964

    Tag, Identification, Personnel (NSN 8465-00-242-4804) is introduced.  The identification tag finally gets a facelift.  Gone is the notch for the Model 70 as the Model 70 has been gone for years.

1968

    Introduction of the Medical Warning Tag (NSN 6530-00-142-8775).  Now medial staff don't have to guess about medications, allergies, and other important medical items.

1969

    The military switched over from Army Service Numbers (ASN) to Social Security Numbers (SSN) for personnel identification.

Today

    Currently, the US Armed Forces is developing and testing a few new tags.  The military claims 80% of the soldiers medical and dental information will be carried on a microchip embedded into the tag.  These tags are designed not  to replace the stainless steel tags, but to supplement them.  The new tags go by many names: Individually Carried Record, Meditag, Tatical Medical Coordination System, and Personal Information Carrier (PIC) to name a few.

TacMedCS
The yellow TacMedCS is currently being tested by the US Marine Corps.  It uses radio frequency technology and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to help pin-point soildiers on the battlefield.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PICThe PIC is currently being evaluated by the
Department of Defense (DOD).


 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

History Section Topics:
History of Dog Tags
History of Dog Tag Necklaces
History of the Addressograph-Multigraph Co.