The Number We Never Forget…..The Hunk Of Metal On MY Keychain
Some of the older guys may remember reporting for pay, usually in the Orderly Room, sometimes in the Day Room. We saluted the duty officer, signed our name and serial number, picked up our cash and were out the door. In case of someone getting a bit overeager, I also recall the .45 on the table.
The serial number was something we were all issued….in some cases at the recruiters office, in other, at MEPS. It marked literally everything we owned, our shoes, shirts, coats, caps, and even those horrible boxer shorts. It’s probably the one number we will never forget!
Historically they were a relatively new addition to the military bag and were only used for about fifty –six years. The first one issued was given to Army Master Sergeant Arthur Cram on February 28, 1918 . Officers didn’t get theirs until June, 1921 when General John Pershing was awarded the number O-1. Without going into a lot of detail, the first two digits designate the state of enlistment (Ohio’s being either 15 or 52) the rest being the individual’s personal number. In some cases, there is an alphabetical designator preceding the number (RA=Regular Army, US=Draftee, AA=Air Force Enlisted Women etc.). In 1969, the Army and Air Force switched from serials to social security numbers. The Navy and Marines made the switch in 1972 with the Coast Guard following in 1974. Some whose service spanned this era ended up with two numbers. In view of the problem of identity theft and the many “doors” having ones social security opens, there has been talk of going back to serials.
Just so you know, the notch on the dog tag was not what the old troops told us it was for. It was, instead, an indexing device to position the metal for stamping. Sorry but that!
As a bit of background, when mankind entered the “modern” era, armies became larger, battles became larger and casualties more numerous. Along with this, came the need for some form of personal identification. During the Civil War for example, these ranged from pieces of paper in the pocket to commercially purchased pins or discs or even stamped on Large Cents. In 1906, the Army authorized personal identification tags, the Navy followed in 1917. These half dollar sized discs were stamped with the name, rank and unit….when serials came into use, they were added. Depending on the time frame, they also included religion, blood type, date of last tetanus shot. During WW II, Jewish soldiers in the ETO could elect to either drop the H (Hebrew) leaving the space blank, or replace it with a P (Protestant)
Hal Fulton
Some of the older guys may remember reporting for pay, usually in the Orderly Room, sometimes in the Day Room. We saluted the duty officer, signed our name and serial number, picked up our cash and were out the door. In case of someone getting a bit overeager, I also recall the .45 on the table.
The serial number was something we were all issued….in some cases at the recruiters office, in other, at MEPS. It marked literally everything we owned, our shoes, shirts, coats, caps, and even those horrible boxer shorts. It’s probably the one number we will never forget!
Historically they were a relatively new addition to the military bag and were only used for about fifty –six years. The first one issued was given to Army Master Sergeant Arthur Cram on February 28, 1918 . Officers didn’t get theirs until June, 1921 when General John Pershing was awarded the number O-1. Without going into a lot of detail, the first two digits designate the state of enlistment (Ohio’s being either 15 or 52) the rest being the individual’s personal number. In some cases, there is an alphabetical designator preceding the number (RA=Regular Army, US=Draftee, AA=Air Force Enlisted Women etc.). In 1969, the Army and Air Force switched from serials to social security numbers. The Navy and Marines made the switch in 1972 with the Coast Guard following in 1974. Some whose service spanned this era ended up with two numbers. In view of the problem of identity theft and the many “doors” having ones social security opens, there has been talk of going back to serials.
Just so you know, the notch on the dog tag was not what the old troops told us it was for. It was, instead, an indexing device to position the metal for stamping. Sorry but that!
As a bit of background, when mankind entered the “modern” era, armies became larger, battles became larger and casualties more numerous. Along with this, came the need for some form of personal identification. During the Civil War for example, these ranged from pieces of paper in the pocket to commercially purchased pins or discs or even stamped on Large Cents. In 1906, the Army authorized personal identification tags, the Navy followed in 1917. These half dollar sized discs were stamped with the name, rank and unit….when serials came into use, they were added. Depending on the time frame, they also included religion, blood type, date of last tetanus shot. During WW II, Jewish soldiers in the ETO could elect to either drop the H (Hebrew) leaving the space blank, or replace it with a P (Protestant)
Hal Fulton
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