VETERANS PRESS: Military identification: ‘Dog Tags’
Photo via SHUTTERSTOCK INC.
My best friend recently got a brand new necklace and pendant. OK…she’s my dog…and she got a new collar and dog tag. But it made me wonder…where are MY dog (identification) tags? We all received them during basic training. Do you still have your tags? Where are they? And why are they called “dog tags?”
The Army Historical Foundation says the term “dog tag” was first coined by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. In 1936, Hearst wanted to undermine support for President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. He had heard the newly formed Social Security Administration was considering giving out nameplates for personal identification. According to the SSA, Hearst referred to them as “dog tags” similar to the identification tags used in the military. Other rumored origins of the nickname include World War II draftees calling them dog tags because they claimed they were treated like dogs, and the metal tag looked similar to those on a dog’s collar.
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