Retired), Brigadier General Kennard R. Wiggins Jr (DE ANG (2015-09-07). Delaware in World War I. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781625855091. In 1910 a tag was issued that was identical to the 1906 pattern in all ways except size. The 1910 tag measured 3.5 cm in diameter. Both 1906 and 1910 pattern tags were, from now on issued in similar numbers and can be encountered relatively equally. There was one more change before the USA entered the war. Possibly due to reports from the nations already involved in the war or possibly due to experiences in Mexico, a second disc was introduced on 6th July 1916 . From now on, the first disc (be it of 1906 or 1910 pattern) had two holes to facilitate the attachment of the second disc. Although American dog tags currently include the recipient's religion as a way of ensuring that religious needs will be met, some personnel have them reissued without religious affiliation listed—or keep two sets, one with the designation and one without—out of fear that identification as a member of a particular religion could increase the danger to their welfare or their lives if they fell into enemy hands. Some Jewish personnel avoided flying over German lines during WWII with ID tags that indicated their religion, and some Jewish personnel avoid the religious designation today out of concern that they could be captured by extremists who are anti-Semitic. [39] [42] Additionally, when American troops were first sent to Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War there were allegations that some U.S. military authorities were pressuring Jewish military personnel to avoid listing their religions on their ID tags. [43] See also [ edit ]

But such was the destructive power of weapons in the First World War that the army had allowed a flaw to remain in its guidance relating to the administration of casualties. The Field Regulations Part II, 1909, Chapter XVI paragraph 133, with amendments of October 1914, stated that ‘Anyone concerned with burying a soldier, or finding a body after an action, will remove the identity disc and pay book’. By removing the two key forms of identification from a body, the possibility of misidentification of the dead became more likely. With the outbreak of war on 4 th August 1914, it was realised that it would be practically impossible to keep up with the demand for aluminium discs and so, following on from a pattern approval on 21 st August 1914 , a new disc that would become so familiar over the next half century was introduced. The new disc was a round disc made of red/brown vulcanised asbestos fibre approximately 35mm in diameter. Stamping regulations were as per AO102 of 1907. In more recent times, dog tags were provided to Chinese soldiers as early as the mid-19th century. During the Taiping revolt (1851–66), both the Imperialists (i.e., the Chinese Imperial Army regular servicemen) and those Taiping rebels wearing a uniform wore wooden dog tags at the belt, bearing the soldier's name, age, birthplace, unit, and date of enlistment. [4] American Civil War [ edit ] Through a Glass Darkly: The Appointment of T/Lieutenant-Colonel C.J. Hobkirk DSO as GOC 14 Australian Brigade, July 1916specify them as having health problems that may suddenly incapacitate their wearers and render them incapable of providing treatment guidance (as in the cases of heart problems, epilepsy, diabetic coma, accident or major trauma) The Hungarian army dog tag is made out of steel, forming a 25×35mm tag designed to split diagonally. Both sides contain the same information: the soldier's personal identity code, blood group and the word HUNGARIA. Some may not have the blood group on them. These are only issued to soldiers who are serving outside of the country. If the soldier should die, one side is removed and kept for the army's official records, while the other side is left attached to the body. After World War II, the Soviet Army used oval metal tags, similar to today's dog tags of the Russian Armed forces. Each tag contains the title ВС СССР ( Russian for 'USSR Armed Forces') and the individual's alphanumeric number.

The military of Denmark use dog tags made from small, rectangular metal plates. The tag is designed to be broken into two pieces each with the following information stamped onto it: The ball chain is of X5CrNi1810, diameter of ball is 3.5mm, that of the wire 1.5mm. Closure is of 1.4301, stainless steel, too. The long chain is 680 + 30mm long, the short one 145 + 7mm. Breaking force of the chain including the closure must reach 100 N, after 10 min glow at 1200°C in air at least 10 N. By having a small disc with name, number and regiment stamped on it, means that you can use that information to look for a medal index card or a service record. In the case of the photograph of the artillery corporal from my previous blogpost in this series, you can now add the name, number and regiment and start looking for more information. Unlike US forces, British service personnel are issued with their identification tags only when on active duty. Service number (E.g., 11111/00/00B, where the first five digits are the ID, the second two are the year the soldier turned 18 years old, the last two digits are the year the soldier enlisted, and the letter is the enlistment group, either A or B)New Zealand and South Africa both followed the British pattern from the issue of the Asbestos vulcanised fibre discs in 1914 (apart from the “NZ” and “SA” stampings in large letters that appears on the majority of these issues), but both nations also issued their own patterns initially – both of similar design to the Canadian emergency tag (but, in this case, they can also be encountered as having been manufactured out of thin, pressed steel). This is a separate rectangular tag that's worn to denote any relevant allergy or medical condition that might to be relevant to medics. Tags that carry just a number but no name may be a works ‘tally’ – collected each day by and from workers to count them into work and out again. Such systems, long used in coal mines to record how many workers were underground, were adopted at shell-filling factories, where the risk of explosion was high, so it was known how many (and sometimes who) was in a particular area. They were obvious souvenirs to acquire when the war work ceased. Other means of identification