In order to facilitate the identification of those killed and seriously wounded by the army command of many countries, the duty was introduced for soldiers to wear special metal tags. The product in the form of a plate with information about the owner and his place of service engraved on it is now known as an army badge. Popularly, these identification plates are called “death medallions”, “dog tags” or “suicide bombers”.
The introduction of army tokens allows one to forget about such a concept as an “unknown soldier” only in the armies of those states in which they strictly monitor the wearing of these medallions.
Acquaintance with the "suicide bomber"
An army badge is a metal product, on which is indicated a personal identification number, blood type of the owner, unit and unit in which the soldier was serving. In some “suicide bombers”, the name and surname of the soldier are also indicated.
The army badge (photo of the identification medallion is presented in the article) is equipped with a special hole, with which a metal plate can be attached to the chain. These tags are worn on the neck.
About the first identification products
According to some scholars, Ancient Greece is considered the birthplace of army tokens. As "death medallions" the Spartans used small tablets - wanderings on which the soldiers inscribed their names. Before the battle began, the wanderings were tied to the hand.
About the German "dog tags"
There is a legend that the army token was invented by the Berlin shoemaker in the 60s of the XIX century. To his two sons, who went to war as part of the Prussian army, he gave two makeshift tags made of tin. On them the father indicated the personal information of his children. The shoemaker expected that in the event of the death of his sons, they would not remain unidentified. Satisfied with his invention, he invited the Prussian Ministry of War to introduce such tags for all military personnel. However, the shoemaker unsuccessfully argued his proposal, citing the experience with dog tags as an example. The Prussian king William I did not like this comparison. Nevertheless, after some time they nevertheless returned to this idea. As an experiment, they decided to use tin "dog tags" for individual parts of the Prussian army.
After the Austro-Prussian war
In 1868, the Prussian general physician F. Loeffler wrote the book Prussian Military Medical Service and its Reform. In it, the author described in detail all the advantages of wearing individual identification medallions by soldiers and officers. As an argument, he cited the sad experience of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866: out of 8893 human bodies, only 429 could be identified. After this argument, the Prussian military command approved the obligatory wearing of “mortal medallions” by all military personnel and officers.
These products were made from tin. They were characterized by a rectangular shape and rounded corners. The upper edge was equipped with two holes into which the cord was threaded. The necessary information on the medallion was stuffed by the owner himself or by local craftsmen. For officers, engraved inscribed army badges were intended. The surface of the officer "suicide bomber" was subjected to chromium plating and silvering. At the top of the tin plate, the name and surname were indicated, below - the military unit. The officers bought medallions, but for the soldiers the "suicide bombers" were free. The soldier’s army badge indicated the number of the fighter and the name of the unit.
Identification badges in the First World War
In 1914, in Germany, the military command refused to include on the medallions only the name of the unit and the personal number of the soldier. Now the soldier had the right to indicate his name and surname. In addition, the "suicide bomber" indicated the date of birth and home address. The medallion also indicated the transfer to the new part. The old part number is crossed out. The standard size of the army badge was approved: 7 x 5 cm. These dimensions remained until the end of World War II. Tokens of the 1915 model were made of zinc alloy. Later, duralumin began to be used in the production of identification medallions.
How were the tokens worn?
The medallions were worn on special shoelaces 800 mm long. However, as practice has shown, ideal places for tokens were the left inner pocket of the jacket and a special chest leather wallet. Verification of the presence of identification medallions by military personnel was carried out by sergeants, less often by officers. If the soldier did not have his personal badge, then after disciplinary action he was given a new one.
About German tokens during the Second World War
Wehrmacht soldiers used identification tags made of zinc or brass. Since 1935, tokens have mainly been made of aluminum alloy. Since 1941, the production of "suicide bombers" from ordinary steel was established. The sizes of the tokens varied between 5 x 3 cm and 5 x 7 cm. The thickness was 1 mm. The icons of the Nazi Navy military personnel indicated the name of the ship, name, surname and owner number in the crew list. Parameters were provided: 5 x 3 cm. Zinc medallions of the 1915 model were intended for the ground forces, SS and Wehrmacht police. The bottom edge of the token was equipped with an additional hole with which it was possible to connect the broken identification badges into one bundle.
Military experts of the Wehrmacht considered that entering the name, surname, date of birth and home address of the owner is undesirable, since this information can be used by the enemy. In 1939, the standard German badge of 1915 underwent some changes: now only the military unit and serial number were indicated on the badge. Later, in order to classify information about military units, a corresponding 5- or 6-digit digital code was created for each of them. In 1940, the letters O, A, B, or AB first appeared on fascist suicide bombers. They designated the blood type of a soldier.
About American Dog Tags
The standard size of the badge was 5 x 3 cm. The thickness of the American medallion was 0.5 mm. In the manufacture of the identification product, white metal was used. The medallion was with rounded edges and smooth edges. Only 18 letters were applied on it using machine embossing.
They were located on five lines. The first indicated the name of a soldier. On the second - the army serial number, the presence of vaccination against tetanus and blood type. On the third line is the name of the closest relative. On the fourth and fifth - home address. Since 1944, the last two lines by decision of the US command, it was decided to remove. Also on the American "suicide bomber" indicated the religion of its owner.
About medallions in the Red Army
In World War II, Soviet soldiers used not metal tokens, but special, curling plastic pencil cases. The fighter wrote all the personal data on paper, after which he put it in a pencil case. For this purpose, the Red Army soldier could use both a special form and a regular paper sheet.
The fighter had to issue two copies. After his death, one remained in the death box, and his relatives could get him. The second was intended for the office. The Red Army also used ammunition shells as tokens. Pouring gunpowder out of the cartridge, Soviet soldiers inserted notes with personal data inside the cartridge case, and they closed the hole with a bullet. However, this storage method is not considered the most successful. Water often entered the cartridge case, as well as the pencil case, as a result of which the paper collapsed and the text could not be read. Most Red Army men believed that the “death locket” was a bad omen, and therefore they mostly wore it without a note.
Our days
Today, army medallions made of duralumin are intended for military personnel of the Armed forces of Russia, military formations and bodies. The plate has a unique personal number of the soldier. The place of issue of the "suicide bomber" was the military commissariat. You can also get it at the duty station.
