POST YOUR FAVORITE DOG TAG(S)!

[USdog]

Here is mine... Just recently got this dog tag. Hoping to see some other favorite tags!

 

Thanks

 

 

 

Links about him...

 

http://www.450thbg.com/real/escapes/19450318/index.shtml

 

 

http://www.450thbg.com/real/biographies/parnell/parnell.shtml

 

 

 

 

 

[USdog]

Additional pic...

[bellasilva]

I couldn't pick just one, so here are my two most prized tags..from left to right are Robert Perrine Bonner, who was with VMD-254 (Marine Photographic Squadron 254). Bonner was an aircraft mechanic, and this dog tag was issued to him one month before deployment to the Pacific theater. On the right is a tag belonging to Sgt Richard Martin Stiras. Stiras was served as a ground radio operator with Marine Air Warning Squadron 8 and was wounded on Okinawa in May 1945. Stiras later retired from the Minneapolis Police Dept and passed away in May 2012. Enjoy.

[bellasilva]

The right picture is of Mr. Bonner.

[USdog]

Awesome tags, bellasiva!! Love the history behind them! Thanks for sharing...

[USdog]

Just want to bring this thread back from the dead... Hopefully there will be more dog tags posted!

 

Here are a few of my favorites...

 

First off is my dog tag that was once worn by Isaac Privette...

 

He enlisted on 3 June 1941 and on 5 September 1944, he joined A Co, 112th Infantry, 28th Division as a rifleman. On 2 November 1944, the division entered the Hurtgen forest. When they were driven out of Schmidt by German tanks, it is likely that Pvt. Privette was one of the unlucky ones who didn't make it back to Kommerscheidt. Isaac may have been killed the same way as these two soldiers who were in the the same company as him...

http://www.lerenfort.fsnet.co.uk/page69N.htm

 

After researching the roster of A Co, 112th Infantry I found that every man had either been killed or captured during the battle of the Hurtgen forest...

 

 

 

 

Here is a pic of his tag, which shows evidence of being on a temporary grave...

 

 

His grave...

 

 

 

MORE TO COME!!

 

 

[USdog]

This set of tags was worn by a man in C Battery, 17th Airborne and when the war ended in Europe he re-enlisted and served in the Pacific! Then went on to serve in Korea!

 

 

 

[USdog]

One more is the tag of Joseph W. Maguin who was on the USS Nevada during the attack on Pearl Harbor...

 

[impigpen1]

I'd love to add some of the more interesting tags I have to the conversation. First one is John Samuel Arnold II. Served CO of the Armed Guard aboard the SS Esso Gettysburg. He served from 1942 through 1945 and was awarded the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart.

 

Here's the Navy Cross citation:

 

Awarded for actions during the World War II

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Ensign John Samuel Arnold, II, United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism and conspicuous courage as Commanding Officer of the United States Navy Armed Guard aboard the S.S. ESSO GETTYSBURG, following an attack upon that vessel by an enemy submarine on 10 June 1943. When two torpedoes ripped into the port side of the tanker and set fire to the oil-covered deck, Ensign Arnold, his own clothing ignited by he explosive blast, sustained severe burns about the upper body before he could smother the blaze. Although suffering acute pain and menaced by the spreading inferno which swept across the topsides, he calmly ordered the forward gun manned and, with the stricken ship fast settling beneath him, fired one round of ammunition to deter a possible surfacing of the submarine. The last man to go over the side as the vessel began to capsize, he remained in the water several hours before he was finally picked up by other survivors who had salvaged a charred lifeboat. His conduct throughout was in keeping with the highest traditions of the Navy of the United States.

Action Date: June 10, 1943
Service: Navy
Rank: Ensign
Company: Commanding Officer of the Armed Guard
Division: S.S. Esso Gettysburg

 

[impigpen1]

Here's a pair for Robert Jules Ballou. Served as a Quartermaster in the USNR during WWII, then enlisted in the Army in 1950 and served in Korea until 1952.

[USdog]

Here's a pair for Robert Jules Ballou. Served as a Quartermaster in the USNR during WWII, then enlisted in the Army in 1950 and served in Korea until 1952.

Very nice tags! Thanks for posting!

 

Lets see more!

[impigpen1]

Last one for now is Lt. Carl Sanford Carlson. He served as a doctor in the Medical Corps in China and the South Pacific during WWII and then served in Korea. He was an orthopedic surgeon in Knoxville, TN for almost 40 years and passed away at the age of 87.

[USdog]

I'd love to add some of the more interesting tags I have to the conversation. First one is John Samuel Arnold II. Served CO of the Armed Guard aboard the SS Esso Gettysburg. He served from 1942 through 1945 and was awarded the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart.

 

Here's the Navy Cross citation:

 

Awarded for actions during the World War II

 

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Ensign John Samuel Arnold, II, United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism and conspicuous courage as Commanding Officer of the United States Navy Armed Guard aboard the S.S. ESSO GETTYSBURG, following an attack upon that vessel by an enemy submarine on 10 June 1943. When two torpedoes ripped into the port side of the tanker and set fire to the oil-covered deck, Ensign Arnold, his own clothing ignited by he explosive blast, sustained severe burns about the upper body before he could smother the blaze. Although suffering acute pain and menaced by the spreading inferno which swept across the topsides, he calmly ordered the forward gun manned and, with the stricken ship fast settling beneath him, fired one round of ammunition to deter a possible surfacing of the submarine. The last man to go over the side as the vessel began to capsize, he remained in the water several hours before he was finally picked up by other survivors who had salvaged a charred lifeboat. His conduct throughout was in keeping with the highest traditions of the Navy of the United States.

 

Action Date: June 10, 1943

Service: Navy

Rank: Ensign

Company: Commanding Officer of the Armed Guard

Division: S.S. Esso Gettysburg

 

Amazing tag!

[impigpen1]

Thanks US Dog! I love researching new tags. Most have an interesting story to share. OK, here's the first tag I ever got.

 

George Edward Haigh's WWII Navy tag. He enlisted in May 1945 and served as an AMM with the USS Helena (CA-75) Aviation unit doing occupation duty in Japan and China after the war.

 

He was KIA on 26 Dec 1952 while assigned to VP-47 in Korea, as an AMM1c. On December 26, 1952, while participating anti-submarine patrol over Korean waters, his aircraft engine malfunctioned and crashed, killing 10 of the 14 seamen on board. His remains were not recovered. Aviation Machinist's Mate First Class
Haigh was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.

 

So his Korea War era tags were never recovered which makes this a pretty special tag to me since he was born down the street from me in Lexington, MA.

 

[USdog]

Thanks US Dog! I love researching new tags. Most have an interesting story to share. OK, here's the first tag I ever got.

 

George Edward Haigh's WWII Navy tag. He enlisted in May 1945 and served as an AMM with the USS Helena (CA-75) Aviation unit doing occupation duty in Japan and China after the war.

 

He was KIA on 26 Dec 1952 while assigned to VP-47 in Korea, as an AMM1c. On December 26, 1952, while participating anti-submarine patrol over Korean waters, his aircraft engine malfunctioned and crashed, killing 10 of the 14 seamen on board. His remains were not recovered. Aviation Machinist's Mate First Class

Haigh was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.

 

So his Korea War era tags were never recovered which makes this a pretty special tag to me since he was born down the street from me in Lexington, MA.

 

WOW! Another amazing tag!

[impigpen1]

John Arthur Billman, joined the Navy V7 program while at the University of Minnesota. He played varsity football for the U of MN from 1939-1942 as a guard under Bernie Bierman, winning two National Championships. Immediately after his graduation in 1943, he reported for duty and trained in Motor Torpedo Boat Operations.

 

Lt(jg) Billman was a PT boat captain with MTB Squadron 9 in the South Pacific until he was discharged in Mar 1946. After being discharged Billman played two years of professional football for the Brookyln Dodgers in 1946 and Chicago Rockets in 1947 in the All-American Football Conference (AAFC). When he passed away in 2012 at the age of 92, he was the oldest living pro football player.

[impigpen1]

Here's Moras Lyndall Schubert's enlisted tag and his officer tag. Quite an interesting guy who lived to be almost 101. Here's his obituary that does a great summary of his accomplishments! One of the more random was he was a competitive figure skater and partners with Condolezza Rice when she was at the University of Denver.

 

Moras L. Shubert, 100, was a man dedicated to his wife Erne, to botany, to teaching, to his University Park neighborhood, to ice skating, to the Denver Botanic Gardens (DBG) he helped found, to justice and reason, and to his vast circle of friends.

 

Erne passed away last year, and on Dec. 10, Moras was ready to join her on their new journey together. He passed away peacefully at home. Moras’ nephew Rich Keil says Moras considered his 100th birthday celebration at the Gardens last May, to be his “memorial.”

 

Moras was born May 21, 1912, in Shubert, Nebraska, a town named for his grandfather. At Peru State Teachers College Moras found he “had an instant love” for botany. At Iowa State College he found he was a natural teacher, and he found Erne as well. They fell in love and married in 1938.

During WWII, Moras served as a chemist for the Economic Welfare Dept. in Washington D.C., then became a Navy line officer on the aircraft carrier Lake Champlain.

 

In 1946 Moras and Erne came to Denver. Morris found a home at University of Denver, where he was an inspiring professor of botany for 31 years, while Erne worked as a librarian at the Colorado State Library. Together they traveled and gave tours. At their house two blocks from campus they opened their door to many students, including those in need of a place to stay for a while. Moras was a great competitive figure skater and performed at DU and in Littleton from 1949-2003. One memorable partner was Condolezza Rice, during her DU days.

 

Moras and Erne were active in the University Park Community Council, where Moras gave tree walks, and helped develop the Historic Buchtel Blvd. Plan as a neighborhood contribution to the Colorado Centennial in 1976. He continued to earnestly consult on the Buchtel Historic Prairie project now in progress.

 

In 1951, Moras became one of the original 12 members of the board of trustees of what is now Denver Botanic Gardens, became a life trustee in 1987, and served as board secretary until 1998. He promoted the Gardens’ research and conservation work, and was always a supporter of the Chatfield DBG site as a sanctuary of native plants, trees and agriculture. A trail there bears his name, as does the Conservation Genetics Lab.

 

“Moras was and will always be an inspiration. He lived a full life right up until the end. He would give me a list of new projects whenever we talked, and he was consistently optimistic about the future. And I will never forget the warmth and delight in his laugh,” said Brian Vogt, the Gardens’ CEO.

 

[impigpen1]

Allen Barwick Moreland joined the USNR in Oct 1941 and was commissioned in Jun 1942 as an officer. Prior to that he had received a BS from the University of Florida and an MA from Harvard University.

 

During WWII Lt Moreland served in England and France. He was part of the Naval Advance Port Party entering Cherbourg immediately after its liberation. The last couple of years of the war were spent in the Navy Department Officer of Island Governments in Washington, DC.

 

After the war, Moreland served in the State Depratment Congressional Liason Officer; as a Field Service Officer and political advisor to the Commander in Chief of the US Army Forces Europe; as Consul General in Stuffgart, Germany from 1957 to 1960, as well as the Consul General in Toronto, Canada.

 

After retired in 1971 from the State Department, Moreland was the executive director of the American Foreign Service Association and DACOR. He passed away at the age of 99 in 2011 in Florida.

[USdog]

You have quite a collection of Navy tags! Love how they all have a story behind them!

[impigpen1]

Last one for now, AMM2c Edwin Clair Hair. AMM Hair enlisted in Mar 1940 and served from Oct 1940 until Aug 1945 on the USS Salt Lake City (CA-25).

 

The cruiser USS Salt Lake City participated in more engagements during WWII than any other ship in the fleet. And Hair, as part of the VCS-5 aviation unit on USS Salt Lake City, participated in all of them.

 

USS Salt Lake City received 11 battle stars for operations in the Pacific, which included campaign credit for:

 

Pacific Raids - 1942 (Marshall-Gilbert raids, Wake Island Raid, and Marcus Island Raid)
Guadalcanal-Tulagi landings
Cape Esperance
Aleutians operation (Komandorski Island and Attu occupation)
Gilbert Island operation
Marshall Island operation (Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls)
Asiatic-Pacific Raids - 1944 (Palua, Yap, Ulithi, Woleai raid and Bombardment of Marcus Island)
Leyte operation (Luzon attacks)
Iwo Jima Operation (Bombardments of Iwo Jima)
Okinawa Gunto operation (Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto)
3rd Fleet Operations Against Japan

 

They were awarded a Navy Unit Commendation for the Aleutians operations on 26 Mar 1943. In addition, they were awarded the American Defense Service Medal w/ Fleet clasp, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 2 silver and 1 bronze star, World War II Victory Medal, Philippine Liberation Medal and Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation.

[impigpen1]

You have quite a collection of Navy tags! Love how they all have a story behind them!

 

Thanks! Trying to unravel the story behind each tag is the most fun for me. Everyone has something interesting I find, whether it's military service related or otherwise.

[jmar]

Hello all!

 

I don't know how I missed this excellent thread earlier when it passed through. Some great tags shown here, thanks to all for sharing.

 

My all time favorite tag, bar none, is this one, my dads. Being blessed with his name (I'm a Jr.) I was thrilled to have discovered it while poking through a cedar chest in the garage when I was around 9 years old. It was in much better shape when I found it. I wore it for many years after, truth is it was the wear on it (caused by me) that made me decide to take it off when I was around 16. Thankfully I had a very very small bit of sense back then.

 

He was the one who got me interested in collecting U.S. militariaback when I was very young. Now it's a treasured piece and kept with some of his other items from his service during WW II.

 

Best wishes to all!

Joe

 

 

 

[jmar]

Me again!

 

here are a few of my loose tags that are not with groups. I hope you all enjoy them. Not fully researched, the early etched examples have the thumbprint on the reverse. The Johnston tag is interesting since it seems he was a trainer for USN pilots during WW II. I also like tags for women in service as shown by the pair, and also tags with religious tokens, after all, as the old quote goes, there is no such thing as an atheist on the battlefield

 

Of particular interest is the batch of (post war) tags to Mr. Kim, the name tag has his pin-backed Pearl Harbor pin attached through 2 small holes drilled in it. Once again I need to do more research.

 

I have one more that I just got a few days ago which will follow.

 

Thank you all again for a very interesting thread.

 

Joe

 

[jmar]

One more...I promise that will be all....for now!

 

I like this tag since I recently learned about the various prefixes. This one is to a woman in WW II service Hospital Dietician since it has an "R" prefix. I really like learning new material, even at my age it's still exciting.

 

Best wishes to all, I hope to see more added here!

 

Joe

 

 

[impigpen1]

Really nice group jmar! Always live to see more Navy tags. Thanks for sharing.