A Brief History Of Military Neck Chains
Do you ever wonder what the metallic pendant hanging from the necks of soldiers are for? We’re pretty much sure that you have seen this object in the possession of actors in countless war movies depicting scenes of World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Storm or even the American occupation of Iraq.
Close-up shots of actors reveal a shiny, circular disc object held by a metallic or brass beaded neck chains with texts printed on it. These are worn around the neck, tied on the boots or romantically given to the soldier’s sweetheart just before the actor leaves for battle - a sort of remembrance. And if a misfortune happened to the actor/soldier like death, his comrades detaches the neck chains to be returned to headquarters for identification. These are usually given to the family or loved ones of the dearly departed war hero.
In reality what the movies depict is true. Military neck chains or dog tags are the names given to the identification tags worn by military personnel or even by non-military personnel. Dog tags were derived because of their strong resemblance to actual dog tags worn by our favorite pets just in case they become lost. The finder can easily return the dog to its rightful owner just by reading the texts on the tag.
The same purpose holds true for the military use of the tags. The tag is primarily used for the identification of the dead and wounded soldiers. It is also used for providing essential basic medical information for the immediate treatment of the wounded such as blood type and history of inoculations or vaccinations during battle.
The military hierarchy requires the wearing of the tag by soldiers either in peace or war time duties. It usually comprises of two copies of the information written and are designed to break easily into two pieces. This allows half of the tag to be collected for notification while the other half remains with the body. This is usually done when battle conditions do not allow the casualty or the cadaver to be immediately recovered because of the accompanying danger. Two identical tags are officially issued. One is worn on a long chain or elastic neck chains around the neck; the second on a much smaller chain is attached to the first chain. In the event the wearer is killed the second tag is collected and the first remains with the body.
Records show that the first time this method of information collecting and gathering was used was during the American Civil War (1861-1865). It was told that soldiers wrote on a small piece of paper their name and address and kept it inside their coats. Or some soldiers wrote this information on their bags, caps, and personal belongings or at the back of their brass paraphernalia like insignias and buckles. The Prussian Army meanwhile, in 1870 saw the need for issuing identification tags for all its soldiers for use at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.
In North America, the U.S. Army also saw the need to institutionalize and formalize this kind of practice among the soldiers. They saw the validity and necessity of having ready information about the soldier just in case anything happens. Thus, War Department General Order No. 204, of 1906, technically mandates the use and distribution of identification tag among its soldiers.
However, in 1916, the U.S. Army revised the original mandate of wearing only one tag. They instead made it compulsory to wear two similar identification tags. In case something happens to the soldier the one tag should stay with the body and the other tag to be collected by his comrades for purposes of records keeping by his head quarters.
Currently, many countries have adopted this system of information gathering and retrieving for all its military personnel. Each member is issued a tag generally indicating the name, address, blood type, religion and serial numbers of the wearer.
But nowadays even non-military personnel like civilians sport the military tags for accessories, ornamentation and even for use officially. Thus, search and rescue groups, summer camps, police and firemen, paintball teams, bowling leagues, boy and girl scouts, campers, survival and outdoor sports enthusiasts wear military neck chains and tags. It is generally held by plastic beaded neck chains, tubular neck cords or elastic neck chains.
Whenever you see that metallic pendant around the necks of soldiers or non-soldiers alike, you now know its history, purpose and use.
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September 16th, 2008 at 10:39 am
I had my own dog tags made when I was a kid. I thought they were cool and fashionable.
September 19th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Thank you for this wonderfully informative post! I had always wondered what exactly those tags were for and thanks to this post now I know. I once had a set of tags made for my dog and they were just so cool. Again, nice post!