The longer one has beads, which represent the days of the year. The shorter one, which goes with the toe tag, is 24 beads, which represents the months in two years. These numbers of beads are important for soldiers taken prisoner of war, and likely for those who wind up lost or even missing in action. The beads allow for keeping track of time, including hours of a day and days of a year. Soldiers taken prisoner of war typically are allowed to keep their dog tags, although that may not always be the case.
For quite some time, dog tags have been made of stainless steel so that they would not rust or get destroyed easily. The U. They became mandatory for U. One common thing about dog tags since their use was adopted is that they contain specific information about the military member.
Dog tags have their origin in the Civil War, but only unofficially. Soldiers at that time would often write basic information about themselves on a piece of paper and pin it to their uniform in case they were killed or badly injured. Some units paid for more durable identification. But there was no standardization as to what was included.
Today's identification tags identify vital information about the wearer: name, Social Security number, blood type and religious preference. Obviously, that proved to be too limiting. Service members can generally put whatever religious preference they want on their tags, including "Atheist" or "Agnostic. But what to put down as a religious preference is serious business, because spirituality is important.
Spirituality is not just a belief in a higher power, but includes beliefs, ethics and values, even a sense of what is fair. Families who wish to have dog tags replaced for a loved one are required to have them printed anew by commercial companies that offer such services. There are many companies that offer such services and they are easily found via Google, Amazon.
Military members and their families have the ability to request replacement military records such as discharge paperwork from the National Archives. However, replacement dog tags are not part of the mission of the National Archives, so while you may be able to replace documentation via the agency, replacement tags are not possible. A show of patriotism in such cases excuses the open wearing of dog tags as a show of support.
But in other contexts, the open wearing of dog tags makes some in the veteran community feel their experiences are cheapened by the use of dog tags as a fashion object. As with many other cultural issues, context is everything. The best rule of thumb to follow when deciding how to wear or present dog tags is to err on the respectful side of their use, display, or wear. There are some kinds of dog tags that are used for medical reasons, and some dog tags are purely decorative with no ties to military service at all.
You may find replacement dog tag services online, but you may also discover third-party vendors serving military communities on base with a variety of services including dog tag replacement.
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