Military personnel of the world were forced to deal with the issue of identification of the dead, simply as the nature of their profession. During the Civil War paper tags were sometimes made by soldiers and pinned to the backs of their coats. In 1862, John Kennedy proposed a more effective marker, but it was dismissed without explanation. Finally the U.S. Army authorized official identification tags on December 20, 1906 with the following details.
"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..."
The truth is, of course, more mundane than the story. The device used to make the tags was the Model 70 "Addressograph" which was a hand held stamping tool. On the tool was a mark which used the V cut to align the tag for a clean stamping. Snopes.com contacted Mortuary Affairs to confirm the truth and received the following statement. One of the more common myths involves the reason for the notch on the tag issued between 1941 and the early 1970's. Battlefield rumor held that the notched end of the tag was placed between the front teeth of battlefield casualties to hold the jaws in place. No official record of American soldiers being issued these instructions exists; the only purpose of "the notch" was to hold the blank tag in place on the embossing machine. The machine used at this time doesn't require a notch to hold the blank in place, hence, today's tags are smooth on all sides. During WWII the tags included a small V shaped notch on the end. Many believe that the notch exists so that the tag may prop open the mouth of the deceased, fitting between the teeth. There are various explanations as to why this would be necessary, from a way to quickly recognize known bodies for transport to holding the mouth open to allow gases to escape during decomposition. These notched dog tags were used through WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Current tags do not have this feature.
-Professor Walter
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