WHATS IN A DOG TAG? Name & Serial Number right? The dog tag facts are noted below. This is Leopold Martin and his first dog tag. Its a little beat up - it must have quite a few stories to tell!. Leo Martin was drafted into the Army in 1943 from Lewiston, Maine and followed his older brother in Armor training. His brother changed his mind and went with the Airborne. Leo followed. His brother changed his mind again, but this time Leo stayed put. He liked the idea of jump pay and the hat the paratroops wore! He spent 1943 in Ft Benning, Georgia jump school and then in Camp Mackall NC. On June 6th 1944, Leopold along with 12,000 other troops invaded England, aboard the Queen Mary arriving June 17th. Combat jump into Holland with 502nd PIR Co C 101st Airborne then on to Battle of the Bulge, Germany and Austria. The sound and clinking of dog tag is quite distinctive. There is nothing quite like it. If any of you were around members of the military, you know exactly what I mean. Leo had at least 7 sets of dog tags over his 20 year Army career. In memory of him, his son, Gary Martin and his 3 children all have one of them on their key chains. The clink in his sons pocket reminds him of his Dad and his service! Dog tag facts: T-43-44 means year of tetanus shot, A is for Blood type A, C is for Catholic, the notch on the left is to hold the tag for the machine typing the letters Serial number is more than a number, number also has geographic meaning • Serial numbers beginning with a 1 designated Regular Army • Serial numbers beginning with a 20 designated National Guard • Serial numbers beginning with a 3 designated Draftees • Serial numbers beginning with a O- designated Officers • Serial numbers beginning with RA designated Regular Army Leopold Martins grandchildren know how important history is. They have watched Band of Brothers many times and the realism has helped them to get pictures in their head of what he went through. Like many of the warriors from that generation, Leo never verbally shared with them any war memories... He lived in Fayetteville/FT Bragg for 40 years and on visits with his grandchildren would tour the museums and witness actual jumps at Ft Bragg giving them insight as to what he used to do during WWII! These are memories that Gary Martin and his children truly cherish now. We are very proud that Gary Martin is among the 34 participants sharing a story in our book VIETNAM & BEYOND, Veteran Reflections by Jenny La Sala and Jim Markson. What WWII story does your family have to tell? We would be honored to share their story too. COMES A Soldiers Whisper keeping our veteran soldiers memory alive and sharing history, one day at time... https://facebook/ComesASoldiersWhisper comesasoldierswhisper Photo & Story Source: Gary Martin, Proud Airborne Veterans Son
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 13:55:58 +0000
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