>> From the library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
[ Pause ]   >> Well, good afternoon.
My name is a Bob Patrick.
For those of you who don't know me, I'm the director
of the Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center,
and I'd like to welcome you to the latest Benjamin A. Botkin lecture
in an ongoing series sponsored by the American Folklife Center.
The Veterans History Project which I say is a part
of the American Folklife Center is very pleased
to be a co-host for today's events.
The Botkin series allows us to interact with scholars and folklife
and cultural heritage while building the collections here
at the American Folklife Center.
The lectures are an important acquisitions project
as they are videotaped to become part of the permanent collections
of the center and they are then posted on --
as webcasts on the LC website.
For those of you who don't know what the Veterans History Project is,
we are a congressionally mandated effort to collect, preserve,
and make accessible the wartime memories of America's veterans.
We've been doing this since 2000
and are now the largest oral history project in American history.
Today, I trust you will see how veterans' stories can illuminate the
topic that's under discussion -- dog tags.
Hopefully, you will see how very personal these items can be
and the emotions they can create.   One administrative announcement.
Since this presentation is being taped for posting on the web,
to ensure the best production value now, now would be an excellent time
to turn off your electronic devices.   I see --
>> Even me.   >> Even you.
However, I have one -- one caveat to this.
We did ask attendees to this lecture to wear their dog tags.
And there's a distinctive sound that dog tags make.
[Dog tags clinking] And I hope we can capture this somewhere
on the tape.
Okay. Today, I have the honor of introducing Ginger Cucolo
who will be introduce -- introducing us to her book "Dog tags:
The history, personal stories, cultural impact,
and future of military identification."
Ginger has a personal connection to the military.
She is married to a career infantryman with over 32 years
of active duty service and we're very pleased
to have him with us today.   >> Yay...
>> Major general Tony cucolo.
[Applause] His dog tags have forever been a part of his extended life.
Ginger is a navy daughter, an army daughter-in-law, and sister
and a marine niece of servicemen, but her years as a spouse
of an army soldier who involved us --
involved her in the lives of many other servicemen and women.
Her book was published in July, 2011.
It was chosen as a finalist in the history category
of the United States of America best books 2011 awards.
She has done numerous radio and TV spots, written articles,
and been publish in a number of magazines regarding this topic.
Ginger holds a bachelor of arts in history from the University of Texas
at Austin, Texas, and a masters of science
in community health administration and wellness promotion
from California college for health sciences.
She manages five websites to include dogtaghistory.com.
I would also say that we are very delighted
to have ginger's mother here.   >> Yay...
>> Ray Virginia Allen.
[Applause] She, herself, is a noted cultural historian, author,
and lecturer specializing in American studies.
But belong that -- beyond that, she is no stranger to the Library
of Congress or the American Folklife Center
because in 1975 she was appointed to serve as a founding trustee
of the American Folklife Center.
And we're delighted to have you here today.
I will say that after this presentation we have materials
up here for you to take a look at.
The book that we'll be talking about will be on sale out front
and ginger has offered to sign those.
So, without any further adieu, let me introduce ginger cucolo.
>> Thank you.   [ Applause ]
>> I wouldn't be here if it -- were not for Jennifer Cutting.
Is Jennifer here?
>> No, she -- [Inaudible speaker] -- she's ill this week I'm afraid.
>> Well, please, thank her for me because it was
through a far reaching email that I sent a note to the folklife center
and asking them about possibly being able to discuss the dog tag book.
And, through her kindness, I was able to meet, of course,
Dr. Nancy Gross, Peggy Bulger, and Bob Patrick and many others.
And I want to thank them and I'm not naive enough to think
that it is just through my email, there it is through my mother.
So thank you, Mom, for laying the ground work for there
because I selfishly used your name in that email.
I'm honored, not only to be a part of the Botkin lecture series.
I'm hosted, of course, by the Folklife Center
and by the Veterans History Project under the Library of Congress.
I could die now.   Thank you very much.
[Laughter] Okay.
Well, we will get through this and be fine.
It wants to keep clicking on the...   >> You want that one?
>> Yeah. All right.
I'm not even gonna touch the other ones for that.
Okay. I'd like to take you into my world.
The world of the American military service member.
This includes army, navy, Air Force, marines, cost guard --
active and reserve -- and the national guard and, of course,
their military family members.   And because I am a spouse
of an active duty soldier I must include extended families.
And now a day that means by birth, by marriage; and,
by any way you can think of, extended is extended.
Well, I cannot simulate the experiences, challenges,
opportunities, or complexities of this life.
Let me try and immerse you by touching your senses,
and emotions with which a small metal object brings
to my world of the military family.
This is about military personal identification and that small object
so many people call the "Dog tag."
Let's begin by addressing its original intent.
Identification of soldiers predates America.
The most common known story is of spartan soldiers
who carried a shield and they were to come home with it
or be brought home on it.
Each soldier had very different designs on their shields
which were often passed through generations.
Identifying the spartan soldier who fought
with that shield gave the armor special meaning and purpose.
Now what could that connection to identity be
that makes it so personal?
We all want to be connected to things we know and love.
And, for most, what could be more personal and heart breaking
than the thought of losing a loved one
and not knowing how we lost them or where they might be.
There is a human aspect of innate existence and fear of facing death.
I do not want to be forgotten.   I will not be unknown.
This fear is compelling, not only in validating the emotional aspect,
but also in acknowledging the practical aspect.
Having no finality to a person's whereabouts leads
to an inability for closure.   Closure for paperwork, closure
for financial arrangements, closure for well-being.
Families are placed in a state of limbo.
Identification has many aspects but the significance of identification
and the regard to the dog tag is not the same
as identification from military burial.
It was during the Civil War that attention, time, and money was spent
on making sure we took the proper respect to bury those we serve --
who served and sacrificed for their nation.
That is not the meaning addressed here.
To be honored and buried might bring comfort to that --
to the thought of being left on an open field
but it does not comfort the person who is concerned
about being unidentified.
Identification for the military makes the burial process easier
if dog tags are worn and recovered.
A nameless body does not connect the soul that inhabited it.
But a name and it's identifying information make a connection
to that human body.
Consequently, it took the effect of war on American soul --
soil to put that desire into actuality.
Let me lead you to a place in time
where this item became important to us in America.
Here is its historical setting.
This is a fictional story that is told
by my husband Tony Cucolo regarding the first historical record
of higher command requesting personal identification.
[ Pause ]
>> Major general George Meade, commander of the army
of the Potomac, told his soldiers to write their names --
is it coming up -- on a piece paper at the battle of cold harbor,
1864 and pin it to themselves.   [ Pause ]
>> Can you make it full screen?   [Pause]
[ Horns trumpeting ]
>> -- they move forward Shoulder to shoulder,
each man quiet in his own thoughts.
[Inaudible] reek with the stench of dead men and dead horses
and it floated like a morbid veil around him only
to see those marching to the left and the right of him.
Two life-long friends Albert Jones
and John Freeman march together knowing all too well what waited
for them amidst this shroud.   Thin moments.
Shot shell rip through the air.   Their adrenaline pumped.
"Let her rip!"   someone yelled.
He used it.
It goes all up and down the line and they yell, "hoorah!"
Jones and Freeman still shoulder to shoulder pick
up their pace [inaudible] rough ground.
They heard muffled curses as many stumbled but kept going.
These men moving forward with them were like friendly
and all took pride in the way company H continued
to fight even when exhausted.
Their senses in overdrive and they never felt more alive.
In the near distance, the unmistakable sound
of the rebel yell -- [yelling] John heard a shell burst near
and looked left to see Albert fall backwards.
"Albert!" Freeman yelled and dropped back kneeling aside his friend.
Bee balls whizzed by.
"John, I'm all right, " Jones said with a strange tone.
"Get back to the line."   Blood spurted from Jones's neck
and Freeman knew he would in time be all right.
"Freeman!"
yelled sergeant [inaudible], "To the mark.
He's somebody else's [inaudible] now."
Freeman knew what the company saw he wanted him to do
but he couldn't leave his life-long friend alone to die.
He pulled a scarf from his own neck and wrapped it around Jones's throat
to try and stop the bleeding but Jones could barely speak.
Freeman saw him reaching over his chest.
"It's there, Albert.
It's there," Freeman told him as [inaudible] across his chest
so his hand could feel the paper with his name
and regiment written before the battle
so if he fell he would not be unknown.
When Freeman let go, Jones's arm slid by him
and his life left his body.
Sense of duty got Freeman back to his feet, and he jogged forward
to reach on company edge.
He was glad they had written their names on a piece of paper
and pinned it to their blouses.   He would come back for Albert
and make sure his family knew how he died.
But, as he ran, he instinctively felt for his own piece of paper,
found it, and was reassured of not being lost and forgotten.
He knew too well he could be next.
>> During our civil war, it was hardened soldiers who were sickened
by the inability to identify
and bury those they fought so hard beside.
They knew family members would want to know their loved ones left
on the battlefield with exposed limb and body parts sticking
up from the ground would not be left there or worse they didn't want them
to think about being eaten by hungry animals that ravaged them.
There were organizations that tried to help with identification.
Service members who were unable to identify themselves
for whatever reason did such things like enlisting under false names
or deserting their units.
This made correct identification difficult.
There is also record of enlistments to gain access to bounty money
and enlistments of soldiers wanting to become another person
and leave their past behind.
Whatever caused the lack of ability to identify soldiers,
this led to a higher level of disappointment for family members.
Parcel items could be identifiers and many
of the wealthier individuals had such items engraved.
Variations included medallions, watches, combs, bracelets,
neck ornaments, and rings adorned with their names
and possibly their home towns or units.
Basically, anything that could be engraved
Offering more specific identification items harper's weekly
offered disk for sale in their publication of harper's weekly.
As you can see in the smaller print, there's soldiers pins
which could be mail ordered.
Settlers and campsite traveler -- and traveling salesmen made disks,
tags, and coins with a soldier's name
and unit for them if they wanted.
Settlers might take a coin or something similar the soldier had,
flatten it, smooth it out, and then imprint the information.
Knowing young boys would be left unknown
on the battlefield might have been the hardest thing
for family members to comprehend.
Every aspect of soldiering comes alive in their letters and diaries.
The stench of spoiled meat, the deafening sound of cannons,
the sight of maimed bodies, and the randomness and anonymity of death.
These were the images soldiers were left with
and that supported the importance of identification and burial.
By 1862, frustrated citizens were asking why a nation
of shopkeepers could keep track of its parcel but not its soldiers.
Interestingly enough, in May of 1862, a gentleman by the name
of John Kennedy, no relation to our president,
sent a letter to our secretary of war Edwin Stanton offering to pay
for the identification disks for all union soldiers.
For -- for some unknown reason, this offering was declined.
Thus, we were left with the variety of ways
that our service members identified themselves.
There was nothing formal about it from our government
until the Spanish-American War.
Many of the dead during the Spanish-American War were buried
in Cuba or Puerto Rico.
The military sought direction of identification in disk services
with the establishment of two organizations.
They operated out of the -- excuse me --
out of the Philippines with similar and yet different tasks.
It would take a very determined
and committed graves registration organization to record
and identify the remains of those buried.
It is also important to note that this same organization was
to disinter the war dead and bring them back
to American soil for reinterment.
The wisdom gained from concisely coordinating death, burial,
and grave registration was the way to successfully identify remains.
The U.S. Army put this into practice during the Spanish-American War.
One of the organizations was led by D.H. Rhodes,
chief of the burial corps.
The other unit was United States Army morgue and office
of identification established by chaplain Charles E. pierce.
It was Chaplain Pierce who believed the identity
of war dead should be practiced on a more scientific basis.
Both organizations were effective in improving our overall ability
to collect, identify, and bury remains.
However, it was chaplain Pierce who believed the identity
of war dead should be practiced on a more scientific basis.
He suggested a central collection agency
where mortuary records would be gathered
and more importantly the addition
of identity disk in the combat field kit.
In December of 1906, the army officially authorized an
identification tag as part of the uniform to be kept in possession
of the soldier when not in uniform.
This is the first time the war department does so officially.
In 1913, the army instated its first regulation regarding the personal
identification tag.
It required that tags were -- were required as part of the field kit.
In August, 1917, the quartermaster general was
to request a grave's registration service
for the quartermaster corps during the period
of the existing emergency World War I.
Chaplain pierce was in charge of this unit.
Through these trained and dedicated individuals,
they applied a more scientific approach
It was during World War I that the thought of burying the soldiers
where they fell became important
to many family members even if on foreign soil.
When Teddy Roosevelt's son lieutenant Quentin was --
Roosevelt was killed, he requested that,
"where the tree falls, let it lie."
30,000 Americans from this war are buried in one of eight cemeteries
in Europe while 47,000 were returned to the United States.
The identification tags which became mandatory for all services
in 1917 became a major influence
in identification process during that time.
As before, after World War I, the push for I.D. tags subsided.
It was popularly believed that I.D. tags were only needed during combat.
In the bureau of naval personnel manual, 1925, it stated that in time
of war or other emergency or when directed by competent authority,
individual identification tags shall be prepared and worn by all persons
in the naval service suspended from the neck or from the wrist
on cotton sleeve monel wire.
Monel metal chain could be used at the individual's expense.
The -- the information remained the same
on the tags as during World War I.
Identification tags in general remained the same
up until World War II, and it was during this time
that the I.D. tags became known more commonly as the dog tags.
In World War II, the tag began to -- excuse me -- began to change.
Many G.I.s wore them with metal chains instead
of the cloth tie around their necks.   Because of the metal crocheted
or leather bags were often made to keep them silent.
The metal chain and tags lent itself to be most
like collars with a tag on them.
This photo is a stop photo issued for the proper way to --
wear identification tags during the time.
The reason I know the name of the individual in this photo is one
of the unusual stories I received during my research.
Let me share the story his son told me about it with you.
I was watching one of my favorite TV programs on PBS.
They were focused on how during
and after the Civil War how difficult it was identifying the
dead left on the battlefield.
They went on to describe the World War I effort
to have the round aluminum tag and followed up with photos of them
with the photo of my dad.
It was a very emotional experience for me.
Anyway, my curiosity got the best of me.
I Googled history of the dog tag and was directed to your website.
There was my dad's photo prominently displayed on your site
with a citation from the Quartermaster Museum, Fort Lee.
The G.I. in the photo is my father David J. Haislip [phonetic],
Jr., of Geneva, Ohio.
At the time, early 1942, he was assigned to the quartermaster corps.
A PFC at the time it was with --
and was finishing commissioned officer training school.
Do not know whether Dad volunteered for that photo
or whether he was randomly volunteered by higher authority.
In any event, he saved a copy of the newspaper
where his photo appeared in 1942.
It is contained in his World War II scrapbook
which the family still has.
Dad served in the China, Berma, India theater of operations and was
in the first convoy of supplies that traveled
over the storied Berma Road into China.
He survived the war and was a captain when he was discharged.
He died in 1989.
As you can probably determine in the photo, Dad was not happy
about being photographed at the time.
He had only been recently married to my mother.
He felt if the photo was released openly, he was not given time
to properly dress, groom, for the photo op.
The authorities assured him at the time the photo would only show him
from the shoulders down, no facial photo.
When the photo showed up in the media, he was quite upset.
So, now, to have that photo on a nationwide televised program
and being on the world wide web, he must be rolling over in his grave.
[Laughter] If only we could kid him now.
Thank you for letting me share his story.
Best regards, David J. Haislop, III.   >> Awww...
>> Never being called such in regulations,
the dog tag has forever imprinted itself
on the serving individual's mind and the tag they wear.
When my husband was doing the fictional story on --
talking about the civil wars
that it's interesting the people throughout the book I do do
fictional stories with history and -- and then the personal stories.
And I decided to do that format just to try to bring it into context
that if you had not been there and might not think
about what the dog tags are for or how important even they might be
that it gives you a little bit of context.
Also the thought that such a little, small piece of metal could mean
such a difference -- getting stories from veterans I found
that they'd eventually say, you know,
I can't think of a -- a story about it.
And, within a few minutes, they were rattling off stories
that they didn't even think they remembered about the dog tags.
Somebody hating it.   Somebody loving it.
People wearing it forever or, of course, being buried with it.
So it -- it's just something that we did differently in writing the book.
So if -- whether media goes along with me or not,
let's just the -- the -- discuss this.
If it is the 1920s and 30s, as you can see --
and if it does better in this format if --
of course, y'all be reading my words too so that's...
>> Yeah. [Pause]
>> America progressed into the great depression.
It's important to note that the forming of the Social Security Act
and how important it was during that time period
for President Franklin D. Roosevelt hoping
to establish a Social Security board.
But this board was eventually abolished and was replaced
with what you now know as, of course,
as the Social Security administration.
One of the first tasks of the Social Security administration was
to record employers and their workers
and to assign Social Security numbers.
Now this process is called "enumeration"
and was highly contested by very -- by a lot of people.
William Randolph Hearst, a staunch opponent
to President Roosevelt used his ownership of and influence of the --
his thought process and of his idea with his newspapers
to print negative press about the proposed tag
that would identify workers as already being owned by the military
and of being owned by the government
and the government having all of your information.
He was so very against that.
Well, this tag was never issued by the administration
and was only an idea of many suggested.
The proposed tag which is in the middle of the slide there was used
in this example and by the negative press of William Randolph Hearst.
Hearst labeled the tag as a "dog tag"
and suggested all workers would be treated and owned as dogs
with private information no longer to be private.
And it was in so many newspapers that then it was believed
that soldiers, sailors, airmen began to pick it up and to call themselves
and those little bits of tags dog tags with that.
This news was widespread and easily caught on like we said and --
and we believe that that is where dog tags and the label did stick.
As America entered World War II,
the navy I.D. tag remained oval in shape.
Often called a tube -- tooth tag or wafer, commander Frank E. Jeffreys
of the U.S. navy developed a technique
in which a person's personal data would be inscribed
on the wafer just like the I.D. tag.
The information was typed onto onion skin paper and then before the plate
of the false teeth is completed a carbon copy
of the information is placed on it.
A thumb print by the same procedure was placed on the back.
Does anyone here have that or did they bring it with them?
[Pause] No?
Have you -- have you seen that besides the images here?
[Pause] The marine corps had square and oval shapes.
And the army instituted the oblong shake --
shape which can be seen today.
The navy and the marine corps had basically the same information
imprinted on their tags.
And I want you to know that I cannot tell you how many variations there
are throughout the years of tags.
And the few tags that you will see in this present --
presentation in no way covers all of the tags and their variations.
These are just the majority of what were given
to our service members during the time period.
Blood type was simplified during this time period as just A, B,
and O. If you were positive, it listed as pos, P-O-S,
and negative as N-E-G; but there was no RH positive negative yet.
Religion was possible for all services
but the only choices given during this time period were C
for Catholic, H for Hebrew, and P for protestant.
There were not options at this time for other religions,
but you could leave it blank if the wearer chose to do so.
This became an important option for the American Jewish wearer.
It is understandable that one might fear their Nazi captors
if Hebrew was imprinted on their dog tag.
While the concept of placing so much information
on the dog tag was thought to be helpful, this is an instance
where life or death was decided upon because of too much information.
Many U.S. Jewish soldiers were taken captive and separated
from the other G.I.s because of their religion.
In the New York Times, June 22nd 1994,
Victor B. Geller offers an explanation of the scarcity of stars
of David in D-day cemeteries in Europe.
That the families of fallen Jewish servicemen chose
to have the remains shipped home for reburial rather
than being buried overseas,
but he actually believed there is a more likely explanation
and connected to the dog tag.
Many Jewish G.I.s omitted from their dog tags the indication
that their religious identity was Jewish for the prudent reason
that in the event of falling into German hands their lives would be
at greater risk if they were identifiable as Jewish.
Technically, the I.D. tag is government property
and not considered personal property.
They are not removed from the remains during processing
or transportation.
Even today, though, it is not recovered by the government
but often treated as sentimental effects and given to the family.
Graves registration companies were, again,
assigned to units during World War II.
They regularly collected, evaluated, identified,
and supervised the remains of those killed during the war.
Once again, they oversaw the selection of cemeteries
and the collection of personal effect.
I.D. tags were part of those personal effects.
Hoping to identify and recover what remains they could
from the bataan death march route the army's 601st graves registration
company faced a difficult mission.
The road they walked on held the unidentified remains of Americans,
English, Dutch, and Filipinos.
It had been nearly four years and time had taken its toll.
It takes ingenuity, determination, and sleuthing skills to work
through such situations as presented to this company
and most graves registration units.
Regulations requiring identification tags
to be worn were sometimes evaded, tags were lost,
or in some instances destroyed by the manner of death.
To this cause may be traced most of the unidentified burials.
Where no tags were found, bodies were searched for other means
of identification such as letters, photographs, lockets, et cetera.
The oblong style tag was issued by all services in the 1950's.
The I.D. tags had other revisions in the year 1952 and in the mid 1960s.
In 1952, there was an addition to the religion of the wearer:
C for Catholic, J now instead of H for Hebrew for Jewish,
P for Protestant, X for any other group,
and Y for prefers not to designate.
In the mid 1960s, the notch was removed from the end
of the tag opposite the hole and the --
and the tetanus shot date was removed.
It was also during these years that the serial number was replaced
by the Social Security number of the individual.
For those who carried a tag during the serial number period,
it is one of the most remembered pieces of information.
You can often ask a veteran who had a serial number when --
what theirs was and they may not remember the date
but they may most often remember their serial number.
The Vietnam war was a time period where changes were made
to the informational dog tags.
They were often associated with body bags and the dying,
but it was during this time period
that the wounded had a much better chance of getting medical help.
The dog tags went from the earlier eight digits with their prefix
to the current nine-day digit Social Security number.
You could have both stamped on your tag if you wanted; but,
from this point on, the Social Security number was the main
identifying number.
The marine corps tag had a variety of additions plus the date
of the gas and size of their gas mask.
They too added the full name of religions with many more
to chose from than before.
It is very common for the marine corps to put one of their tags
on their boots laced up with their shoelaces.
Even with the slight variations,
one could see how service members might have kept their older
dog tags.
Issuing units used a wider range of religions as designated.
This picture above with the gentleman asleep was sent
to me with a story included.   During a noon break on an operation,
I racked out in a hammock without a shirt.
It was really hot.
The sun shifted and I was no longer in the shade.
When I came to, my chest had reddened
and you could make out the tags and chain.
One of my Cambodians shot a pic of me
with my camera napping at the time.   I still have the photo.
It was after this time -- Vietnam --
the dog tag became a highly recognizable icon.
Being used as a symbol for POW and MIAs, this icon represented more
than its original meaning.
It -- it continues to show itself in all aspects of our society
with little acknowledgment of its actual personal connection
by the majority of our nation.
For example, the dog tag has exploded into a representation
for everything from their original meaning for dogs to popular icons
that lends itself to immediate recognition.
The image of representation of this enduring symbol
from military identification has found its way into the hearts
of many who might not even understand the depth
of its meaning except for the basic connotation of identity.
Because it is such a recognizable item dog tags are used
in the movie industry in not so well-known and in well-known movies.
We remember these images quite easily.
Often the reality of the tag is blurred.
Heroes both real and represented as such wear these tags.
They are on movie stars and recording -- recording artists.
We have the famous from actual heroes,
from heroes who became movie stars, and heroes who became politicians.
They are represented in action figured, and doll sets.
[ Pause ]
>> And, here, you can see this is American Girl Collection
so she even has hers with her for Emily.
They are in video games and cartoons.
[ Pause ]   >> Let us look at this last image.
If anyone was raised possibly going to elementary school in the 1950's,
this is a current poster.
Have heard then you might have called "duck and cover"
and that was part of the Cold War scare.
Many school districts during this time period gave their students dog
tags to wear in case there was an event or an attack
where their bodies could be more easily identified
by wearing their dog tags.
We also had dog tags in everything from jewelry
which I am wearing to wine labels.   [ Pause ]
>> Not actually imaged in the book
but I do discuss them are what are called "meat tags."
[Pause] Thank you.   Oh. [Pause] Oh, right click.
Thank you, sir.
No? [Inaudible speaker] Now left click?
>> Now try.   >> Thank you.
Okay. These tags are mirror images of a personal tag
and as tattoos are some of the most personal
and amazing ways to display these tags.
They are representative of their own dog tag,
of family member's dog tags, or a fallen comrade's dog tag.
It is because of those that have fallen that the dog tag is
so often represented in the memorials and statues.
These are ones that have the dog tags as part of the memorial.
[ Pause ]
>> And these are collected from the -- of course, the Vietnam wall
and it is part of their traveling wall exhibition.
And, as you can see, the dog tags are stacked below all the bracelets
on the -- at the bottom of the table.
Dog tags are also used as a focus as part of the memorial.
[ Pause ]   >> And those that are its focus.
At the University of Arizona,
in the front of their student union memorial building is a memorial
whose shape represents the battleship U.S.S. Arizona 18-foot
ship's mass.
The sculpture honors the 1511 individuals assigned
to the U.S.S. Arizona battleship on the day Pearl Harbor was bombed.
The military dog tags allude to the rigging of the ship.
The tags with the names of the 1177 fallen men are in the diamond shape
of a god's eye and the tags of the 334 survivors are
above the tiled portion of the mass.
It was the artist's intention to show the vast difference
in the number of dead compared to the number of survivors.
Another very touching and memorable display is Chicago's national
veterans art museum, above and beyond memorial.
The immense 10 by 40-foot sculpture is comprised of imprinted dog tags;
one for each of the more than 58,000 servicemen and women
who died in the Vietnam War.
When one enters the museum, you hear something like wind chimes coming
from above you and your attention is drawn upward 24 feet to the ceiling
of the two-story high atrium.
There are tens of thousands of metal dog tags spaced evenly 1 inch apart
suspended from fine lines which allow them to move
with the shifts in air currents.
I am not sure that we can have anything in America
that does not have some sort of urban myth
or legend associated to it.
And the dog tag has its throngs of both.
We've already discussed the most possible reason
for the name having been assigned to the tag earlier,
and I would like to share a few more with you.
The first being back in 1888.
A scrungy little dog with wiry hair crept
into postal office in Albany, New York.
None of the postmen noticed him curled up on a bag sleeping soundly.
He was lucky enough to remain in the building and slept soundly
until the next morning when one of the postal clerks finally saw him
in the corner on a bag of mail.
They named him "Owney" with no story behind it.
He had no tag to identify him and no one came forward to collect him.
Owney made the postal service his new home
and postal bags became his property.
In the station or traveling on a train, Owney watched over the bags
as they made their way to their destinations.
Originally, on a railway car between New York and Albany, his trips began
to lengthen until other postal clerks worried
about Owney getting lost or stolen.
This prompted the Albany office to get him a collar to identify him:
Owney, post office, Albany, New York.
Much like that of a baggage tag this identified him and his home,
but it did not keep him from becoming the mascot
of all railway mail clerks.
They fed him and made sure he was safe to travel
on to other stations and guard the mail.
An interesting fact for Owney is that as a mascot
for all he needed a tag from each of his stops.
Thus, in time, he gathered hundreds of tags on his collar;
so many so that his collar almost weighed more than him.
And there was no more room on the collar.
The postmaster general at the time John Wanamaker had a dog jacket made
for Owney where each of the tags could be sewn on the jacket
and spread out the weight of all the tags collected.
Owney was a legend in his own time.   A lot of people believe that this is
where we got the nickname of dog tags.
So take it where you want but that's one of the legends.
Now probably the most incorrectly repeated myth
about the dog tag is the notch in the dog tag.
Some service members still believe the notch was part of the tag
so that they could force it between the two front teeth
and it would stay with the body.
However, dental identification is too important
for that to have been a reason.
The notch was there because the embossing machine used
in those days required it to hold the tags steady while being printed.
The notch is not there today
because a different machine is used to imprint the tag.
During the Vietnam era, it was quite common to place one tag
in your boot laces and one around your neck.
Many people believed the boots will make it through anything so,
if you tie one of your tags in the strings
of the boot, you will be identified.
The item -- the items connected to a fallen comrade are
of special significance to those they fight beside.
Often even with the most sincere of actions there seems to be something
about identification tags that make soldiers wanna take them off their
deceased comrade in the field.
Whether it be for accountability purposes
or whether they have watched too many John Wayne movies,
I do not know.
But, once the I.D. tags have been removed from the remains,
they are absolutely worth -- worthless for identifying purposes.
What one must remember is a basic reason for wearing the dog tags.
They are to be used for identification in case of death.
Those two tags lying next to your chest are made and protected
by those layers and most easily accessible
for medical treatment and immediate burial.
One tag stays with the body and one goes on a marker for temp --
temporary burial if necessary.
If someone has to take the time to find a body part, time is lost.
The next myth -- legend is one with a group of soldiers
with their own specific dog tag numbers.
They were nicknamed the "moron corps" and known as project 100,000
and now McNamara's 100,000.
Unkind and definitely not politically correct this name moron
corps was given to a selected list of enlisted personnel.
This group was given the derogatory nickname by other soldiers
but it was billed as a great society program.
These were a member of group of draftees
who failed the minimum armed forces I.Q. test but were enlisted anyway.
I was not able to find an image of this dog tag or to actually speak
with anyone that had one of these dog tags
and was from this select group.
Sometimes events happen that you cannot explain and so let's think
about this next legend and how some of its events are true.
This is about the Hunley.   While not the first submarine,
the Hunley is the first recorded submarine to sink another ship.
During the Civil War, the Hunley was a confederate submersible
that had a rough start.
It had three different names and the first two models sunk.
The vessel was made to hold -- was made to hold nine seamen, however.
To think about nine grown men having to work and sail
within her hull is a frightening scenario.
It's own history and the fate of these brave men are interesting
in itself but there are two mysteries
about this particular vessel that is important
to personal identification.
What has been recorded is the story of the gold coin
and lieutenant Dixon's luck of a bullet hitting the coin instead
of piercing his leg at the Battle of Shiloh, 1862.
He was a soldier who fought in that battle and then volunteered
to be commander of the Hunley.
It was through the careful sifting of his remains that the ring
and the coin were found of his.
The coin still having an indentation where the bullet hit it
and also the engraving of his words.   Shiloh, April 6th 1862,
my life preserver G.E.D. The second story being the finding
of a union soldier identification disk.
Since it was a confederate submersible, it held many a story
of why such a disk would be on it.
The man whose name is inscribed who's on the list of deceased
from the fight at Morris Island.
Ezra Chamberlin enlisted in the union army in September, 1861,
and was assigned to the 7th Connecticut volunteer
infantry regiment.
Carlson who had Chamberlin's disk with him
on the Hunley was a privateer by trade collecting
and taking personal property for sale or trade.
Once he was in the service of the confederate army,
it is easily believable that he would have no qualms
about taking something from the battlefield as a souvenir.
It is recorded that he was at Fort Wagner,
Morris Island near Charleston, a few days before and after the battle
where Ezra Chamberlin died in 1863 so it is likely he could have picked
up his identification disk and kept it on him.
It is the handling of deceased personnel that drives the importance
of issuing and wearing these tags and having them stay with the body.
In a book by Allen Clark, a veteran of Vietnam, called, "Oh, god,
I'm dead," he makes a point of being unknown all too real.
While in the green berets, he is on patrol from their camp in Dak
To looking across the Dak Poko river
and hearing mortar rounds coming closer and closer to their position.
As they were being fired upon, he was calling
for fire to this certain spot.
"Get puff the magic dragon here right away!"
Puff the magic dragon, a gunship aircraft, whose mission was
for life saving close air support.
He felt a thud and was knocked forward.
He states, "Oh, my god.   My legs. My legs.
Help me. Oh, god.
I'm dead," he tells a sergeant, "I'm here under an assumed name.
Please make sure my wife knows if I die."
Captain Clark lost both his legs because of this incident.
He was fortunate not to lose his life but his story resonates
with the ultimate reasoning for the dog tags
and having identification on you.
While he was part of the green berets,
their missions were often classified independent
on their ability to be unknown.
The reality of his condition made him realize the situation he faced
and he wanted his wife to know what had happened to him.
His real fear of being unknown is just as realistic
as on today's battlefield.   [ Pause ]
>> The first thing we want to look at is one of the new versions
of what we might have for what we call a
"personal information carrier."
It was developed to hold 20 years of medical records
and images taken during this time.   Slightly smaller than the size
of a dog tag it can keep a person's medical benefits -- excuse me --
medical records without the bulk of medical records.
Researchers found that soldiers did not always keep the PIC
with their dog tag and finding the PIC on the body became an issue.
Medical personnel had to search pockets, backpacks,
or go through several layers of clothing trying to find it.
They also failed -- they also found that it failed
under certain environments and conditions.
Solving this issue was a priority and it played a key role
in developing the most recent item the joint electric
information carrier.
The technology has advanced but the EIC must still be carried
by the individual in the field.   And I want to make it clear
that this is not a standardized item that is issued.
All are still in the test phase.
We are not alone in our wanting to be committed and precise
and properly identifying our service members.
Many countries have used some sort
of identification throughout their years,
and their personal stories are just as important as others.
While the tag, itself, can look different depending on the country,
the personal stories shared with me, as I said, and the sentimentality
of those do still remain true.
As individuals, we assign value to things; especially,
items that have been part of our personal belongings.
The value is not monetary, it is emotional.
And, however, it is the emotional aspect that makes it invaluable.
We collect things because they remind us of something important
to us or we find it and have comfort in knowing it is around us.
It fills a void or a need.
This is the value of the dog tag in our most recent history.
And, as we wind this up, I'd like to share a few
of the personal stories shared with me.
One is from the gentleman that has this collection
that I'm showing you some of his items right now.
His name is Dick Clayton [phonetic] and he is a collector of militaria.
And one day he was going through an antique shop
and noticed a I.D. bracelet connected to a dog tag.
And so he asked to see it out of the glass case and picked it up
and looked at it and was astonished to find that it was the name
of the gentleman who had raised him
for about 10 years when he was a young boy.
Now, he went ahead and purchased it for about $30.
Then called the family that he knew very much as his own family
and they had no idea how someone else had gotten this
but they wanted him to keep it since he felt such a special connection
to it and that he had found it.
And sometimes these stories are such treasures
that there's no way you cannot share them and that we cannot look
at the variety of emotions that are expressed within them.
Here we have a picture of L.C. Robbins.
This was sent to me by her great nephew in a collection that he has
and that he wanted to share with me.
She's a small town Indiana girl who never went beyond the eighth grade.
She went to nursing school, and then joined
in 1970 the army nurse corps in France.
She served her years throughout the service; but,
while he was on corregidor, she started to go deaf.
As she lost her hearing, she taught herself to read lips.
It wasn't until she was transferred to night duty
that the army discovered she couldn't hear.
On night duty, she had to shine a light
in soldier's faces to read their lips.
After complaints from the soldiers
about the night nurse shining the flashlight in their faces,
she was questioned by her commander.
She confessed that she had been deaf for quite a while
but did not want to leave the army.
She was discharged from the Philippines by Douglas McArthur
who was general governor at the time and officially retired
from the army in 1933 as a lieutenant.
Here's one from another gentleman.
I'm sure you're not liking for stories about dog tags
with the letter H on them and it hardly fits
into the concept you mention of a dog tag bringing comfort
to a soldier but you might be interested in this story.
Bob Levine [phonetic] was a veteran of the 90th infantry division
who was wounded and captured on hill 122 in Normandy.
Levine's leg was amputated by a German soldier.
And, for many years, Bob wondered if the doctor had cut off his leg
because of that H on his dog tag.
Many years later in the pocket of his uniform jacket
which he had kept he discovered a note
from the German doctor explaining that the amputation was necessary.
Bob went to Normandy on the 40th anniversary and because
of the note was signed he was able to locate the family of the surgeon
who had since passed away.
The daughter of the surgeon came to America, was a friend of Bob's.
And, when Bob was head of the New Jersey chapter
of the American ex-POWs, she visited him and spoke
at one of their chapter events.   Levon [phonetic] T. McDaniel.
I was afraid for wear of my dog tags --
the same set of dog tags I made for myself in 1943 I wore
through all my years of the service.
We were given new tags when we went to Korea -- my unit charlie company,
23rd infantry, second infantry division when we were called to go.
The identifying item the dog tag was once again prepared
for each departing soldier, and I left my original ones home with me.
Following about a month of combat, my unit was almost annihilated
on the 31st day of August.
I was wounded and captured on the 1st of September.
During the first few hours,
my dog tags amongst many main items were taken from me.
And, for many years, I've harbored the thought
that some Korean native would find them and they would return to me.
No luck so far.   John Huber [phonetic].
This was sent to me by a lady by the name of Tani Toni Farris [phonetic].
My dog "Truble" found a piece of rock with a set of dog tags embedded
in it with some other personal items.
My first thought was that this sailor had perished at sea
and I held his last farewell to this world in my hand.
All I could think of was how much I wanted
to return this brave soldier's dog tags to his family.
Through years of searching for him, she finally found him in 19 --
woo, excuse me -- he was in southern California in 1969,
and she had found this 34 years later.
The story that he tells her is much less dramatic than she was expecting
because it was -- he was on a date, he was in a canoe,
and they were making out [laughter] and he lost his billfold
and his dog tags and a few other personal items
and then mother nature took over from that.
But it was amazing that her dog Truble found that.
[ Laughter ]
>> Now a much more poignant and touching story from recent.
I received the photos of this gentleman and a questionnaire
that they had done before the young man left for Iraq.
And David Bents [phonetic] had filled it out with his sister
and mother and then went to Iraq.
He also gave a copy of his dog tags to his sister to wear.
Within two weeks of being in Iraq, he was killed.
They had not given me their question --
questionnaire yet and the mother said that she wanted
to immediately share it with me that she could not speak with me about it
and the sister could not speak with me about it.
But they wanted to make sure that I knew that she will wear his dog tags
for the rest of her life.
And every time she hears that jingle, every time she feels them
on the chest, she will be thinking of her brother.
We also have another one of Ken Ballard [phonetic].
This is sent to me from his mother Karen --
excuse me -- Karen Meredith.
On May 29th 2004, I was living with what I thought was an ordinary life.
On May 30th 2004, Ken was killed in a war in Iraq.
While many people say that casualties
so far have been relatively no --
low, any number more than zero was too many for this war.
On that day, my life changed.   I speak for myself, no one else.
Very few people have actually met a gold star mom.
It is important that people know what it feels
like to be in my situation.
When my son's body was returned to me, they gave me what was
on his body when he was killed.
His belt buckle, his spurs -- calvary -- and this dog tags.
I immediately put them on and have not removed them for anything;
not for airport security, not for a mammogram.
They stay close to my heart where my son will always be.
There's a group called the "patriot guard riders."
And their mission is to come to each of active duty services to protect
and keep anyone that might disrupt those services away
from the active duty member's family so they can be protected.
And they are very loved by our military services
and their family members.
In each of the services that they go to,
that patriot guard rider has a dog tag of the service they went to.
So, as you can see here,
this particular member how many dog tags he has
and how many funerals he has been to.
[Pause] This is actually from a very good friend of mine
and of her father and all of his family members.
And she writes very -- a very sweet story about him
about when he got Alzheimer's they couldn't find anything
that would help him remember where he was from, what his name was
but he could remember his number.
And so, like, we talked about earlier
that if you could remember what your number was
on your dog tag before it became even your Social Security number,
you remembered that serial number.
So they had a dog tag made with his serial number.
And then from then on that's what he would show,
when he couldn't remember his own name.
He remembered he wore his dog tags.
And he was buried with his set of dog tags.
For so many people this small item stands for those
who have given the ultimate sacrifice.
This fallen soldier display that is so well-known to our military forces
and family members is a loving tribute
and a visual reminder of the fallen soldiers.
Having a historical significance
from World War II the items were displayed as a visual marker
for units coming behind other ones to know
where the fallen had been temporarily interred.
The rifles firing pin was removed and the rifle was turned upside down
and stuck in the ground with the helmet placed on top of the rifle.
This allowed the units following them to easily find
and take care of the fallen soldiers.
The dog tags were not to be removed from the body,
but the fallen soldier display today is presented with boots, rifle,
helmet, and the dog tags are laid on the rifle
as you can see them hanging here.
It is the dog tags that one touches as they approach the display.
Throughout the years, all services have made hundreds of changes
but its intent and important connection to identity has not.
Understanding the sentimental -- sentiment --
sentimentality of these small metal tags is human.
And we must remember -- or what we must remember are the names
and the stories of those who have served and continue to serve.
Once again, I am grateful to share the history, personal stories,
and folk culture of the dog tag.   The value of carrying on traditions
and sharing our personal stories individualizes America
and creates a bond of identity for future generations.
I thank you all very much.   And, if anyone has any questions,
I'd love to answer anything if I can.
[Applause] Thank you all very much.   [ Applause ]
>> Are there any questions?
>> You listed -- you listed other countries --
>> Yes.   >> -- also use dog tags.
Is the term "dog tag" transferred to any other country?
>> No, they -- they use it as identification tags or disks.
>> And was the U.S. the first to do this or was --
>> No.
>> -- did other countries do it earlier?
>> Other countries did it earlier.   [inaudible] Right.
And they had it -- they also had -- in many countries still,
they have one metal one and maybe one paper board one.
And it -- it is used for different reasons.
But we were not the first, but we did -- we do have the two metal tags
and now ours are very distinct.   >> I have one more question.
>> Oh, good.   I'm so glad.
[Laughter]
>> I'm always searching for the first citation of anything.
And so when was the term dog tag used
for these identification tags --   >> In the military officially?
>> Well, anywhere.
In other words, the term dog tag appears
for the first time somewhere --
>> William Randolph Hearst did it and he was the first one to have it
in print actually but it was
for the Social Security administration's tag.
And the --   >> It wasn't for the military.
>> It was not for the military.
And the military still does not call it the dog tag.
It is still an identification tag.
>> I would love to have a citation of when it's first in print --
>> That's a great idea and I -- I should've done that.
That's -- thank you, sir.   No, I appreciate that.
That -- that's wonderful.
That would -- it would be nice to have that.
[Pause]   >> Well, ginger --
>> Thank you.
>> -- on behalf of the American Folklife Center,
the Veterans History Project, thank you.
>> Thank you.   >> And we have something for you.
>> Oh, yay!   [Applause]
>> It's your own Veterans History Project dog tag.
>> Oh, I'm so glad!   Thank you!
I will add it to my collection.   Thank you very much.
I can jingle more.   >> Yes, you can.
>> Thank you very much.   >> Thanks for coming.
>> Thank you all.
>> This has been a presentation of the Library of Congress.