What the Notch on Old Dog Tags Was Really For

Why do soldiers wear two identical dog tags? And what was that notch really for? (Hint: not teeth.) In this video: what's stamped on a modern dog tag line by line, why there are two and what happens to each one, how ID tags went from paper notes in the Civil War to steel and DNA, the real story of the notch, and how the military identifies the fallen today. 00:00 The two tags everyone has seen 00:41 What we'll cover 00:52 What's stamped on them 02:32 Why there are two 03:21 Where dog tags came from 05:24 The notch myth 06:31 When a soldier doesn't come home 07:46 Recap Sources: army.mil (DA Pam 600-8-14 update, 2015), War Department General Order No. 204 (1906), Naval History and Heritage Command, Arlington National Cemetery, Defense Health Agency (DoD DNA Registry). #military #dogtags #army