🚀 go-pugleaf

In <BZS.91Mar15155015@world.std.com> bzs@world.std.com (Barry Shein) writes:
| >>other details of these graves to the Iraqis. I don't know if the
| >>Iraqis use "dog-tags" and whether these are being collected and
| >>provided (I suppose it might be better to leave them with the body,
| >>there must be some custom for this.)

(attribution lost)
| >The practice in the US military is to issue 2 dog tags; in the event
| >they need to be collected, one is collected and one remains with the
| >body.  I would imagine that this would be common practice in the armies
| >of the world, but who knows? (rhetorically speaking, of course)

(Barry Shein again, I think)
| A common practice in VietNam (by Americans, on Americans) was to take
| a dog-tag, position it between the front teeth, and kick the jaw
| closed, "so it wouldn't get lost".

As a U.S. Army Infantry veteran, let me assure you that this was
not peculiar to Vietnam.  It was and probably still is standard 
operating procedure.  That's what the two little notches in the 
dog tag are for: so you can position the tag between the upper 
and lower front teeth, and it will stay in place until you can 
kick the jaw shut.

Instruction in this practice was one of the first things I 
remember from Basic Training.  A sergeant stands up in front of 
your platoon and starts out by saying, "Gimme your tags, 'cruit.   
Okay.  Everybody see these little notches in the tag? ...."

--
Gordon Fitch  |  gcf@mydog.uucp  | uunet!cmcl2.nyu.edu!panix!mydog!gcf