History of the Dog Tag

The 100 year anniversary of the official use of military personal identity tags, affectionately known as Dog Tags, recently passed without fanfare. Interestingly, though, we are in a war where the Dog Tag is once again a highly personal item to warriors in every service and their families. Each Dog Tag carries its own human interest story, and is much more than a piece of metal with words and numbers imprinted on it. Receiving it, hanging it around the neck, and feeling it is at once a silent statement of commitment. The tag itself individualizes the human being who wears it within a huge and faceless organization.