usryan Posted May 27, 2009 Share #1 Posted May 27, 2009 Hi everybody, My last find with this us ww2 dog tags engraved with the named of a german soldier. It's the first time i see a similar dog tags !! It seems that this dog tags was use to identify german soldier killed in action... A friend have found 200 similar dog tags with a metal detector in easthern France and few time the unit of the soldier was write. Did you know the meaning of the different marking ? Thank you for your answer. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usryan Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share #2 Posted May 27, 2009 Hi, New info by a french collector who say that this tag was use by a german prisonner... "31 G" seems to mean that he was taken prisonner in France. Have you other information ? Thank you. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunbarrel Posted May 27, 2009 Share #3 Posted May 27, 2009 Tim, That would make sense. As you probably know, POW's were issued dog tags when taken to German POW camps; so, it makes sense that the opposite is also true. A POW tag issued by the Germans, from military-dogtags.com: From http://www.nationalww2museum.org/history/bulge.html : Battle of the Bulge Artifacts of Captain Neil P. Stewart Captain Stewart was the commanding officer of F company 422nd Infantry regiment 106th Division during the Battle of the Bulge. He wore these dog tags around his neck during the battle, his capture and forced march of several hundred kilometers to a POW camp in Poland. Upon his arrival at POW camp, Oflag 64, Stewart was issued the rectangular German prisoner of war Identification tag. Captain Stewart endured nearly five months of captivity before being liberated by Allied forces in late April, 1945. Gift of Dr. J. Campbell, The National World War II Museum Inc., 2005.088 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siege1863 Posted May 28, 2009 Share #4 Posted May 28, 2009 The "31" denotes that the prisoner was captured in the European Theater, not just in France. The "G" identifies the nationality of the military force in which he served. In this case, Germany. The number "2442857" is the prisoner's individual number. The man processed before him would have number "2442856" and the man following would be assigned "2442858." Once the Allies had firmly established themselves in Western Europe, there was no longer the need to ship prisoners of war all the way to United States. The Geneva Convention dictated that POWs be moved to a place of safety. Consequently, men taken in France, Belgium, and so on were sent far to the rear to large holding camps. This "dog tag" would be for a German prisoner who never left the Continent. It is possible it was issued after the surrender of Germany, but when the soldiers will still being rounded up. With an i.d. number approaching two-and-a-half million, this seems likely. Prisoners of war held in the US did not have tags for identification. Rather, they were issued small cards showing their prisoner number, name, and signature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usryan Posted May 29, 2009 Author Share #5 Posted May 29, 2009 Hi, Thank you very much for your answer !! This "dog tag" would be for a German prisoner who never left the Continent It's true because i have found recently that this man died on 1946 and was buried on german military cemetery in France. No idea for the meaning of "GRS" ? Best regards from France. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl1944 Posted May 29, 2009 Share #6 Posted May 29, 2009 GRS=Graves Registration Service Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siege1863 Posted May 29, 2009 Share #7 Posted May 29, 2009 This "dog tag" does appear to be for the identification of a German POW who had died. The information below comes from a database of German WWI and WWII dead. Surname: Liesering First name: Heinz Rank: Lieutenant Date of birth: 26.04.1916 Date of Death: 08.03.1946 Heinz Liesering rests in the military cemetery at Andilly, France. Block 35 Row 7 Grave 503 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usryan Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share #8 Posted May 31, 2009 Hi Mike, Thank you very much for this great news !! In a friendly way from France. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
korea drab Posted May 31, 2009 Share #9 Posted May 31, 2009 Hi Mike, Thank you very much for this great news !! In a friendly way from France. Tim Tim If this soldier is buried,how did you got this tag? It supposed to be let with the burried soldier? Just a question. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usryan Posted June 2, 2009 Author Share #10 Posted June 2, 2009 TimIf this soldier is buried,how did you got this tag? It supposed to be let with the burried soldier? Just a question. Karl Hi, This dog tags was found with other 200 similar tags, found with metal detector. I think this tags was use in 1944-1945 and was obsolet after this period and change to other identification method. Owner of other tags was not all dead so i think this tags was not found on a temporary german cemetery but on a POW camp ... In a friendly way Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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