Dog Tags?

Can you tell me if in the second world war, did the Canadian Soldiers wear dog tags?

May sound a silly thing to ask? but I am curious


Thanks..

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Yes, they were made out of a fibre material. I have an original set, but my scanner's down, so I can't post the pic. Someone here can and will, I'm sure.

[Jordan Baker]

Hi Lucy

Yes Canadian soldiers did wear "dog tags" although they were usually called I.D. Disks. The round one was redish and the other one was greenish in colour. The string was tied so that the red one could be cut off in the event of the soldier being killed. Ive also heard that a second red disk was attached to the air outlet on the gas mask.

As Geoff says they were made out of a compressed fiber. Almost like really thin but strong card.

They caried the soldiers Regtmental number, last name, first/middle names initials, religion and country. Officers ID disks usualy only had the name, rank, religion and country.

These ones pictured are of my grandfathers from when he served in WW2 with the Canadian Army.

Originally posted by Lucy
Can you tell me if in the second world war, did the Canadian Soldiers wear dog tags?

May sound a silly thing to ask? but I am curious

Thanks..

NOT silly at all I was really interested in hearing peoples replies to you, so I could learn about this too. Although, I think Geoff or someone else explained this to me long ago, and I've just forgot? My mind is going when the years do I think!

By the way Lucy, I love having another woman posting in here!!! So few women have gotten really active in here. Maybe I'm just a strange one? We'll have to inspire Pauline to come back and post more as well

PS:

I never saw any identity tags/dog tags with my Uncle Ed's medals and things, but his records state that there were NO personal effects to send home. The Hitlerjugend must have removed everything from the soldiers bodies and pockets after massacreing them. (How did they identify my Uncle Ed's remains then, to know it was him, for sure, I wonder? : )

Karmen.

A Big thanks to all of you with the info on "dog tags" or ID discs,

Jordan a special thanks to you for the pictures which are wonderful and never expected, so it was a nice surprise

It will soon be 2007 ...for me I hope it will be a better and more Informative year and if it hadnt been for my sister, I should never have known about this wonderful Website

I have taken over from her while she is in Switzerland

Thanks Sis x

Lucy,

Your forum and posting priveleges have been disabled while this gets sorted out with Geoff. Your information in your profile and in your posts, along with your IP address, are identical, down to and including being a dental receptionist. You are one and the same individual as Hilary/Maria/Lucy.

Stand by.

Karmen

[Pylon1357]

Originally posted by Vets Dottir
PS:

I never saw any identity tags/dog tags with my Uncle Ed's medals and things, but his records state that there were NO personal effects to send home. The Hitlerjugend must have removed everything from the soldiers bodies and pockets after massacreing them. (How did they identify my Uncle Ed's remains then, to know it was him, for sure, I wonder? : )

Karmen.

Karmen, It would be pretty much impossible to speculate as to what happened to your Uncle Ed's I.D. tags...

My uncle Clifford DOW 14-Sept-44, no personal effects were recoved either, odd as he died in hospital...Just one of things I suppose.

Originally posted by Pylon1357
Karmen, It would be pretty much impossible to speculate as to what happened to your Uncle Ed's I.D. tags...

My uncle Clifford DOW 14-Sept-44, no personal effects were recoved either, odd as he died in hospital...Just one of things I suppose.

That IS odd if he died in hospital. Maybe they were removed or torn off out in the field before he was transported to hospital?

I still don't know how they could identify my Uncle Ed from the others if their tags were also taken from them with other personal effects. Makes me wonder if Uncle Ed really is in that grave thats marked as his, or is someone else? They all are there in Beny Sur Mer though. Together.

No DNA testing back then, although come to think of it, I have diagrams of my uncles dental records or chart in his service records, so maybe they id'd soldiers this way

Karmen

[servicepub (RIP)]

Identity discs only make it home when the wearer does. When a soldier dies one disc is removed and makes its way to the Adjutant while the other remains with the body.
Typically, a body will be left behind during the actual fighting. Immediateely afterwards the body may receive a quick, shallow burial - more for sanitary reasons than for any other. The spot is marked for the Graves Regsitration Unit (a US Army term but I can't remember the Cdn term) to recover the body and move it to a more permanent spot. The ID Disc that remained with the body helps ensure that the right wooden marker is properly matched. Later again, the War Graves people come along and move the body to its final resting place. Again, the disc is referred to.
Meanwhile, the adjutant has used the disc that has been turned in to start the official paperwork required by the army. There is no requirement to retain the disc afterwards and I have never heard of anyone who wished to collect these as souvenirs during the war.
Nowadays ID Discs are highly collectible, especially as many units can be identified by these discs.

Originally posted by servicepub
Identity discs only make it home when the wearer does. When a soldier dies one disc is removed and makes its way to the Adjutant while the other remains with the body.

Thanks for all of that information Clive. That explains why I never saw them with my Uncles things, as a kid.

Regards my Uncle's group he was massacred in that field with. I still am not clear about if the German's just left all of our Soldiers laying there in the field, as is when they were shot and died, or if the Germans hid or buried them to keep other Canadians from finding them right away. I'm still not clear on when exactly, after they were murdered, our Soldiers were found by our Canadians.
Does anyone else know? I know the men who escaped were re-captured then sent to POW camps for months before they were able to tell what happened in that field.

Always with the questions, I am

Karmen

[Norm Cromie (RIP)]

Hi Lucy:

Welcome to MLU. They are a wonderful group and full of information always willing to help.
Here are my dog tags, you may notice that the round tag is missing. Yet, somehow I am still here. Although a number of people around me think I am dead. Dead from you know where, to the up.
Actually after 5 1/2 years the bottom part of my tags wore through and I lost it. Here is my original dog tag


(To Carman: I was 18)

FYI to all of you, I just posted images of Herb Danter's tags in the Relatives thread. To see them, go here:

http://www.mapleleafup.org/forums/sh...5096#post65096



Karmen