Hello My name is Lynn and my father Billy J Ludwig was a WWII veteran serving as an Army tracked vehicle mechanic in the Asiatic - Pacific Theater. He served with the 90th Ordnance Company and lived in Port Washington Ohio . Service record from 1942-1945. I have been compiling some family history and took a closer look at a dog tag he had in a box with his own . I would like to figure out the owner of the tag and the back story . I have some photo's from his time in Luzon taken with another man but they were not noted who he may have been. He may not be the tags owner. The tag says : Carr D E 527 50 66 AB USN. I have enclosed a photo , Any help with how to use the numbers on the tag to search would be helpful ! Thank you in advance, Lynn Ludwig Davis
I don't know much about US dog tags, but it looks like a US Navy (USN) service number. Records prior to 1954 are to some extent open to the public, and can be requested from the records administration (by mail or fax, because historians apparently celebrate the technology of the 20th century ): Access to Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF)for the General Public
Thanks ! It is shaped like my fathers Army tag - with the notch but the numbers are very different other than the blood type. I only have one of my fathers not both , which we don't know where that is either .
Tried searching in records files but the number does not show any matches . I'll keep searching . Thank you
Welcome, I hope you'll find the information you are looking for. Our American members will certainly be able to help.
Your father's is an earlier Army dog tag (before Aug 1943). After July 1943, they stopped including next-of-kin name and address. I'm less familiar with Navy dog tags, but all the ones that I have seen have been a rounder oval shape. Maybe one of our Navy or Marine experts will be able to shed some light on it.
WWI and WWII US Navy dogtags were oval. The WWI tags had one hole and the 1940 tag had two holes. Strange why a Navy or Marine personnel would have an Army tag with USN stamped on it. Home Page › Wwii marine and navy dog tags WWII Marine and Navy Dog Tags USMC and Navy dog tags of World War II were oval shape, very different from the dog tags used by the Army and Army Air Forces. The Army and Army Air Force dog tag, M1940 Dog Tag, is very similar to the modern day shape, those used by the Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, and the Merchant Marine were oval in appearance. Navy and Marine Dog Tags were of two patterns, both measuring 1.50-inches by 1.25-inches. These tags differed only by the number of holes for the dog tag chain–the P1917 pattern having one hole, and the P1940 pattern having two. Â Both of these patterns were used throughout the entire war. P1917 P1940 M1940 Dog Tag