Unusual Japanese ID Tag

[AtomicShop]

This is another original ID tag collected by the US 6th Army during the battle for the Philippines. The tags were used to train intelligence officers as they prepared for the invasion of Japan. The ID tag is attached to the original card tag attached by 6th Army G-2.

My take is this tag is for Unit 15311 which is the 威 4th Air Army Manila Army Air Depot but there are several 15311 units described in Gregor’s book so I am not sure how to read this. Looking at the back of the tag, it looks like it was repurposed. Does this means the soldier was transferred and they just flattened out his old unit and provided a new one?

[tomp]

What other units are represented by 15311? I have only seen for the Manila Army Air Depot with the above code, as well as a prior code "Kaze". As to the back, I am not convinced a code was canceled out and flattened, although I suppose it is possible. Aluminum is already a soft metal, and the deep stamps, imo, would come up on the reverse, with the tag needing to be flattened out before it got too three dimensional. Purely conjecture, but I feel, reasonable. A very interesting tag.

Tom

[AtomicShop]

Tom-

Thanks for your comments. Looking a bit more closely at the back, you maybe right that some of the impressions on the front carried through but there are a couple of places where I am not so sure. I need to take a closer look with a good magnifying loop.

One thing I wondered about is how often soldiers needed to have their tags modified and if they were issued new tags or repurposed existing ones? It would seem that for replacement or reserve units and even labor units drawn from the ranks, they would have to have their tags redone fairly often. Reading through Nick Komiya's 2015 War Relics posting on tags, it sounds like new soldier ID numbers would change quite frequently from replacements and attrition. Basically, you would move up on the rosters as others fell off.

[tomp]

I suppose it is the $64,000 question, concerning distribution and updates of tags. At least concerning canceled tags with new information on the other side of the tag, I have seen a lot (most?) with pre code information canceled out, and then with the code for the same unit stamped on the other side. I have seen others with just a portion of unit information canceled out and restamped, without the other side being used at all, like changing the company from 2nd to 3rd, things like that. I once thought that the soldier numbers at far left did not really have any true "ownership" attached, that the tags were used and reused by newer soldiers, etc. with only the roster sheet changing. Not so sure of that anymore, particularly with so many tags having blood types stamped into them as well. Lots of expensive questions!

Tom

[AtomicShop]

This is really an interesting discussion. From a pure Japanese being efficient, I suppose that soldiers could trade tags in the event of a promotion or attrition within the same unit. Since it was the company roster, not the tag that defined their place in the company, it would make some sense. But as you point out, many soldier added their blood types to their tag which would make this scheme not workable. But to complicate matters, the Japanese would burn the rosters rather than have them fall into the hands of the enemy. This would leave the tag as the only means of determining the soldiers rank and position which would not seem to me to be very reliable if I was an intelligence officer trying to figure out who my captive is.