Henry Mayer's Port Moresby's Micro History:
American Dog Tags Found Around Moresby
I had 86 tags total, all found in the last 19 yrs within 10 miles of Port Moresby. All the ones I found prior to this i gave to Bruce Hoy when he was curator at the war museum. Pictured is a collection of American dog tags found in the Port Moresby area.  Most tags were found at either Durand (17-Mile) or Jacksons (7-Mile) areas. Are you the relative / owner of one of these tags? 

Contact Us to provide more information to facilitate the retutn the tag. A complete list of tags is presented below. Already, two tags have been identified and returned: Gurden Barnett and Carl Hustard.

Thanks to Niels J. Zussblatt of National Archives Military Personnel Records
for death dates added in red.  Also, he explains: 
"These are real dog tags  of the type that were issued early during WWII.  Later, there were three tags: a pair contained Name, Service Number, Blood Type, Religion and sometimes Tetnus immunization month/year. These are the 3rd tag that lists the military members Next of Kin (Wife, Father, or Mother) and their address.  This was so that forward units could write to the next of kin if the military person was killed or wounded.  This was done because it was not practical to carry paper records into forward combat areas, especially wet areas where papers would mildew."

Return to Henry Mayer Main Page