Real or fake, Vietnam dog tags stir up emotions

[gwb123]

We've had a couple of threads on this same subject.. Here's the Chicago Tribune's view on the topic:

 

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-10...ietnam-tourists

[Overlord]

It's a nice article and i think it rings true at the end

 

Despite the tough memories, families and veterans all say they are happy to have the tags, even if they aren't real. Telling stories and remembering friends has helped healing. Families say it is comforting to know that someone still cares.

 

The amount of fakes coming out of Asian countries is enormous! At one end of the extreme fake spectrum is eggs. Thats right eggs, they make the chemical coloring put it in a resin, into a mold, hot water, its disgusting what their doing to be honest, but they look very, very similar. This is one story from a massive industry, that is potentially so hard to stop, whole villages in China are supported by a 'fake' factories making fake items.

[Bob Hudson]

Thanks for the link: there's one paragraph that really sums it up:

 

For soldiers climbing through the jungle and jumping out of helicopters into a combat zone, losing tags was common. If a soldier lost them, he simply got another pair, so it's quite possible that Earl Quarterman had more than one set.

 

But defense officials say when American troops pulled out of Vietnam, many of the tag-making machines were left behind. Officials say they've gotten dozens of reports of found dog tags all bearing the same name. Earl Smith has been reported more than 40 times, Walter Robinson more than 75 times. Defense officials believe that black-market producers are copying real dog tags or downloading information about veterans from the Internet.

[swed]

I actually bought a real dogtag when i visited Vietnam 2004. And i was able to send it back to its rightful owner. I bought it at Khe Sanh from a local for a dollar, the veteran had lost it 64-65, but had no idea it was gone until he got it back in the mail. It was pretty banged up and corroted after have been in the dirt for 40 years. But he was very happy to have it back.

 

/Swed.