"The Notch"
Is it a Tooth Notch?
A
Locating Notch?
Something else?
Read on the mystery is solved here !
GENUINE
ISSUE notched
identification tags or dog tags are available custom
imprinted with your information thru our on-line
catalog.
Please visit
our on-line
catalog
to purchase notched dog tags.
The "Notch"
The "notch" in military dog tags appeared in the
early 1940's when military identification tags were
"standardized," and the military adopted a
uniform set of regulations and specifications
defining the military identification tag or dog tag.
Military dog tags issued
during WWII,
through Korea and into Viet Nam had a distinctive
characteristic that instantly identifies these
vintage dog tags and also ranks as one
of the most highly debated, misunderstood myths or urban legends of all time - the "notch".
This photo is a fine
example of a WWII identification tag or dog tag that
illustrates the "notch" that has been the subject of
many a conversation since it's introduction in the
1940's.
Myself included have spent most of my life believing
that the notch located on military dog tags was a
"tooth notch", it was not until we started selling
dog tags and researching the issue that we found the
truth about the "notch".
Before we tell you the truth behind the "notch"
-
let me list what the "notch" was NOT for:
-
The
"notch" was NOT a "tooth notch" for placing the
dog tag between the teeth of a deceased soldier.
-
The
"notch" was NOT an aid to "start" the dog
tag between the teeth when you "kicked"
the tag into place on a deceased soldier.
-
The
"notch" was NOT a "prop" used
to keep the mouth open so
that a bloating body would be able to expel
internal gases until grave registration or
mortuary affairs recovered the body.
-
The
"notch" was NOT a "nail notch" and was NOT used
for the first nail position when nailing a dog
tag to a crate or coffin.
-
The
"notch" was NOT for holding, locating or
securing the blank tag plate in a machine to
imprint the tag or when making the tag.
This is an actual dog
tag issued during WWII in 1943 - the T43 means that Mr. Renney received his Tetanus shot in 1943 - if you
will notice the '44 was added later as it is not in
line with the other text of the tag. For the
complete history on this tag please see our page
dedicated to Mr. Renney and the history behind this
interesting man, a Corporal stationed at Love Field,
Dallas, TX in 1942. This man severed in both
WWII and Korea.
Click here to be
taken directly to that page. - RENNEY HISTORY -
If you want to believe all the myths and rumors you
have heard about the "notch" in the dog tags then do
not click on this link, if you want to know the
truth then click on the button below.
Here is one reply that we received when we posted
questions about the "notch" on some Internet forums.
Geoffrey Perret's "There's A War To
Be Won" disposes of the myth that the dogtag notch
is so that it can be jammed in the teeth of the dead
man. The notch is actually so that the nail can be
hammered into the dogtag and wood of the dead man's
coffin the QM Graves Registration Team buries the
body. The notch enables the first nail to be put in
the right position.
