curious number on dog tag

[jim46]

I recently acquired this dog tag because of the unusual ASN. According to Paul Braddock's book on dog tags, the "L" prefix is for officers in the Women's Army Corps. This soldier, however, appears to have fudged his age and joined the Army in 1946 at the age of sixteen. He served until 1949.  Has anyone found a different meaning for the "L" prefix? Also, of interest is there are only seven digits in the ASN instead of eight. Any help is appreciated.

 

[aznation]

Since Donald was born on May 2, 1929 and he enlisted on June 4, 1946, if my calculations are correct, he would've turned 17 on May 2, 1946.  Therefore, I don't believe he fudged on his age.

 

I can't help you on the L prefix thing though.  That's strange for sure.

[jim46]

I saw that also, but his Social Security death record, along with many other entries in Ancestry.com, gives his date of birth as May 20, 1930. That is why I figured that he fudged his age by a year when he enlisted.

[aznation]

30 minutes ago, jim46 said:

I saw that also, but his Social Security death record, along with many other entries in Ancestry.com, gives his date of birth as May 20, 1930. That is why I figured that he fudged his age by a year when he enlisted.

 

I see what you mean about other records on Ancestry giving his DOB as May 20, 1930.  Pretty weird but ultimately based on the NARA WWII enlistment record I believe he was born in 1929.  Additionally, based on the NARA record I believe the "L" on that dog tag was actually supposed to be a "1" and the tag was obviously struck incorrectly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jim46]

You are right about the "L" actually being a "1". That also clarifies the seemingly seven-digit number. Unlike today's computer keyboards, old typewriters, like the one I learned on, did not have a "1" key, and we were taught to use a lower case "L" instead. Thanks, again, for your help.

[aznation]

You're welcome.