Dog Tag Found in Vietnam

[D Hoffner]

MrGale...Selling fake dog tags like this has been a well known scam ever since Vietnam opened up for tourism decades ago. It was common to see large bunches of tags hanging shops. At first, 'discovering' the huge number of dog tags for sale, caused quite a stir with those tracking or searching for MIA's, until the scam became well known. Some have been found to be real, having been lost for various reasons, but the vast majority have been proven to be fake. I'm surprised your tour guide didn't alert you to the scam. Below is a link to an article on this phenomenon, and you can find many others with a simple Google search. Not only are they making a quick buck off of gullible tourists, but its also their way of saying 'We won, You lost'.

http://www.historynet.com/found-lost...-or-fake.htm/4

[Sgt Leprechaun]

Alas, concur.

[rickyracer]

Mine was lost over 30 years ago.
Some dirt bag stole my seabag with the tags in the pocket a few days afer I got out....

[m14ed]

Yah, said best i could do was Max resilution with my browser options,
guess some of us are LESS GEEK than others.

and the text info posted helped more than the picture. from what i remember , you have the complete information now for a legitimate tag. Right down to his blood type, and mask size.

[MrGale]

MrGale...Selling fake dog tags like this has been a well known scam ever since Vietnam opened up for tourism decades ago. It was common to see large bunches of tags hanging shops. At first, 'discovering' the huge number of dog tags for sale, caused quite a stir with those tracking or searching for MIA's, until the scam became well known. Some have been found to be real, having been lost for various reasons, but the vast majority have been proven to be fake. I'm surprised your tour guide didn't alert you to the scam. Below is a link to an article on this phenomenon, and you can find many others with a simple Google search. Not only are they making a quick buck off of gullible tourists, but its also their way of saying 'We won, You lost'.

http://www.historynet.com/found-lost...-or-fake.htm/4

Thanks for the link but did you read the article? On page four it says, and I quote:

" Despite what some say, our research has shown that the vast majority of the thousands of dog tags for sale on the streets and in the small shops throughout Vietnam are authentic—made in the United States or in Vietnam, stamped and worn by our service personnel who served in-country, many of whom were killed in action. The simple fact is, tens of thousands of dog tags were lost in the heat of battle or during medical treatment, and left behind. There is no doubt that there are plenty of fake dog tags in Southeast Asia and more than a few shop owners who will say anything to make a couple of bucks. But, as we observed firsthand, Vietnamese shopkeepers regularly receive bags full of genuine dog tags that have been found, so there is little need for the Vietnamese to produce fakes."


As I stated in my OP, I bought the tag from a metal collector not a shop in Saigon or another big city. Could it still be a fake? Yes but the more I research dog tags made in this time period the more I think it is real. I was in the Army reserve from 1965 to 1971 and I still have my dog tags. Using digital calipers I measured both and they are the same and they are both stainless steel. The fonts are the same although, on my tags the spacing is closer.


I don't seem to be getting much help on this web site so are there others that I should contact?


Thanks for any suggestions, I seriously want to make every effort I can in returning this to its rightful owner.

Mr.Gale

[Sgt Leprechaun]

Couple of points here, from a 'military collector/dealer' point of view (Doing this for 35 years now...).

1: It's a nice thought to return the tags. Since you have the SSN, you can get the veterans records from NARA. That will give you the last home of record.

2: When we left ARVN, we left behind more gear than most people can fathom. Included in that are what we gave to the ARVN, was stolen, lost, etc. Plus what we wrote off. Dog tags, dog tag machines, chains, etc etc were a part of that package no doubt. The Vietnamese, being enterprising with the American tourist market, have put them to good use. Same goes with patches, helmets, web gear, the list goes on. I can show you some very, very nice patches that are 'in country' made, that look identical to the ones bought from 'cheap charlie' patch shops..properly aged, and all. They are reproductions but some collectors still fall for 'em.
What I'm saying is, buy the ITEM, not the story behind it.

I realize what the article says. And I'm aware of guys losing tags all the time...but the amount and quantity that have been found there dwarf what have been found in Europe (where there are dedicated diggers and hunters) and even Russia (where the market for German tags, thanks to collectors, is HUGE). If you factor in the vast amount of soldiers in the European theatre (alone, since the Pacific isn't relic hunted for obvious reasons) then there SHOULD be piles of GI tags from that theatre. There *should* be piles and piles of German tags from the Russian front. There just aren't. Hundreds of thousands of them, matter of fact, if we use the "dog tags hanging by the hundreds" (or whatever the article states) theory.

Factor in climate, ravages of time, etc, (1975-2009= 34 years). Same goes with the European ones, of course...but...

The bottom line is, while your tag may have belonged to a Marine who served, it is more than likely a reproduction, properly aged, and sold with a good story.

Nothing wrong with that, of course, but you may find you are slamming against a brick wall.

Still, if you are so inclined, send away to NARA for the records, using the service number on the tags. See what happens.

Best of luck! By all means, keep us updated.

[MrGale]

You are probably right and it is a fake but, I feel that I should least put in a little effort into making sure before through it into a drawer.
Here is a web site that you might find interesting. http://www.jpac.pacom.mil/index.php?...size=100&ind=3

I could have also bought this bomb but I thought getting it through airport security might be a problem. :-)

Mr.Gale

P.S. What is NARA? Do they have a web site?

[Sgt Leprechaun]

Yeah...that may have been...problematic LOL.

Here ya go:

http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/mil...al-public.html