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I found a dog tag....


tylis2
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Nothing much, a single 1949 enlistee tag; but on the bottom right where you usually find a C for Catholic, an H for Hebrew or a P for Protestant, this one has a " Y " .... What does " Y " stand for??

 

Thanks,

 

Steve

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ABrangerjoe

Not sure but I once saw a dog tag that had jedi knight as a religion. It was a real one being used by an airman in my father's squadron! :lol:

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I checked Paul Braddock's book, Dog Tags and it indicates that the 1952 version of AR 606-5 specified the following religious preferences: P, C, H, X & Y. As identified above C for Catholic, an H for Hebrew anda P for Protestant but he don't indicate what X & Y stand for. Perhaps Buddhist and Muslim?

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maybe when the corporal asked "religion ?"

The recruit said "why?"

 

:w00t:

 

But seriously folks, that's an odd one...

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I like that...Yankee might not be far off since it came from Connecticut....and they just beat Boston 3 straight! :thumbsup:

 

Does Yedi start with a Y ? :think: :

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Could it be Presbyterian? :think:

 

Unlikely, Presbyterian would have been classified as P for Protestant. Again my hunch is Y stands for either Buddhist or Muslim. Since using B could have been mistaken for Baptist and M for Methodist. According to this article X stood for No Religion:

 

http://www.uiowa.edu/~c019225/military2.html

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Bluehawk: It's not there I already checked the Forum.

 

Ehrentitle: Thanks for the info..given the time period, it sure seems to be something like what you've said.

 

T-Bone: YMCA is not a denomination.

 

It was the only item I found tag saling yesterday; never really looked at it until today, and then came up with the Y foor religion. Now it's kept me busy seaching sites all afternnon to figure out what it is.

Thanks for the help guys. :thumbsup:

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Unlikely, Presbyterian would have been classified as P for Protestant. Again my hunch is Y stands for either Buddhist or Muslim. Since using B could have been mistaken for Baptist and M for Methodist. According to this article X stood for No Religion:

 

http://www.uiowa.edu/~c019225/military2.html

I never thought of that. Live and learn! :)

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Kevin: Interesting article. But it says Muslim dogtags were marked with the " X ";

X " is no religion....I like your hunch.. but why are you limiting " Y " to Buddhist / Muslim?

If " X " is " no Religion ", wouldn't " Y " just mean "Other" ?

 

Stve T

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"Y" Chromsome? :w00t:

 

 

Nothing much, a single 1949 enlistee tag; but on the bottom right where you usually find a C for Catholic, an H for Hebrew or a P for Protestant, this one has a " Y " .... What does " Y " stand for??

 

Thanks,

 

Steve

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...Nothing much, a single 1949 enlistee tag; but on the bottom right where you usually find a C for Catholic, an H for Hebrew or a P for Protestant, this one has a " Y " .... What does " Y " stand for??

ID tag religious preference codes used in 1949 were "C, P, J, X, or Y" (source: Army & Air Force Special Regulations 600-210-5, Identification Tags, March 1949). The preferences indicated by codes "C,P, and J" are obvious. My WAG is that "X" and "Y" were something like "none" (as in atheist) and "any" or "other." My copy of the SR is out of reach at the moment; I will report exact definitions asap.

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My WAG is that "X" and "Y" were something like "none" (as in atheist) and "any" or "other."

 

I think you are on target: in later years if you told the military you were an atheist they put "no religious preference" on your dog tags, so perhaps that's what the "Y" stood for, and the "X" meant you practiced something other than the C, H & P religions.

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Salvage Sailor
I think you are on target: in later years if you told the military you were an atheist they put "no religious preference" on your dog tags, so perhaps that's what the "Y" stood for, and the "X" meant you practiced something other than the C, H & P religions.

 

Which was abbreviated as "NO PREF"

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What is the code letter for Orthodox ? O ?

What about the other followers of Eastern Christian Faith Churches : Chaldeans, Copts, Armenians, Uniats, Maronites, etc...

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According to my 1950 Non Com's Guide (4th ed), page 212, states.....

 

"C = Roman Catholic; H = Hebrew**; P = Protestant; X for any other group not included in these; Y for a preference which the soldier prefers not to designate, or when he makes no statement."

 

 

 

**makes no sense as Hebrew is the language, Judaism (or Jewish) is the religion

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