dog tag

A pair of blank dog tags on one ball chain. Dog tag placed in bootlace. New Zealand Army wristband dog tag.Military identification tag, also informally known as dog tag, is a common term for a specific type of identification tag worn by military personnel. The tag is generally worn around the neck or attached or embedded into articles of clothing. The tags' primary use is for the identification of casualties; they have information about the individual written on them, including identification and essential basic medical information such as blood type and history of inoculations. They may indicate a religious preference as well. The term most likely originates from newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1936. He used it in an article written to criticize Franklin D. Roosevelt's proposed New Deal which allegedly included worker identification tags. Hearst referred to them as "dog tags", comparing them to those worn in the military. Another proposed origin is from WWII draftees who referred to them as dog tags, either because of their poor treatment, or because of their resemblance to animal identification tags.

History