Dog Tags: A History of the American Military Identification Tag 1861 to 2002. This item is unavailable.Dog Tags: A History of the American Military Identification Tag 1861 to 2002

Signed by the author! HARDBACK edition. In NEW condition, Never read. viii, 169 pages pbk. : illustrations ; 28 cm. . . . . . . . . A meticulously researched reference work that chronicles the evolution of U.S. military identification tags from improvised Civil War solutions to standardized modern systems. It has 169 pages and draws on the authors decades of collecting and expertise as a military historian. It organizes the narrative chronologically by era and year, detailing how tags addressed the grim reality of unidentified remains in combat?highlighting statistics like the tens of thousands of unknowns from earlier wars and the improved identification rates in later conflicts thanks to durable tags and emerging DNA methods. The book examines materials (aluminum, Monel metal, stainless steel), designs (round discs, oblong notched tags), stamping methods, regulations, and variations across branches and conflicts, from private-purchase Civil War discs and Red Cross tags in the Spanish-American War to official 1906 aluminum issues, World War I double tags with service numbers and fingerprints, World War II M1940 styles (with blood type, tetanus dates, and next-of-kin info later removed for security), and post-1960s updates incorporating Social Security numbers. Braddock includes numerous black-and-white photos of rare examples, variances, fakes to watch for, and collector insights, making it an essential field manual-like resource for historians, militaria enthusiasts, and collectors. It stands out for its thorough, factual focus on the physical artifacts, timelines, and practical military use rather than broader cultural stories.…