Answers about VA home loans

Dog Tag Tales: Military dog tags have an interesting history

By Ruth Aresvik

VETERANS HELP NET CORRESPONDENT

My best friend recently got a new necklace and pendant. OK ... she's my dog ... and she got a new collar and dog tag. But it made me wonder: where are MY dog (identification) tags? We all received them during basic training. Do you still have your tags? Where are they? And why are they called "dog tags"?

The Army Historical Foundation says the term "dog tag" was first coined by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. In 1936, Hearst wanted to undermine support for President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. He had heard the newly formed Social Security Administration was considering giving out nameplates for personal identification.

According to the SSA, Hearst referred to them as "dog tags," similar to the identification tags used in the military. Other rumored origins of the nickname include World War II draftees calling them dog tags because they claimed they were treated like dogs, and the metal tag looked similar to those on a dog's collar.

Military identification tags date back to the Civil War. Soldiers were afraid no one would be able to identify them if they died – they were terrified of being buried in unmarked graves. Some marked their clothing with stencils or pinned on paper tags.

According to the Marine Corps, some men carved their names into chunks of wood strung around their necks. Others bought engraved metal tags from non-government vendors who followed the armies during the war. Historical records show that in 1862, a New Yorker named John Kennedy offered to make thousands of engraved disks for soldiers, but the War Department declined.

At the end of the Civil War, more than 40% of the Union Army's dead were unidentified. This outcome validated the concern about identification. The first official request to issue ID tags to service members came in 1899 at the end of the Spanish-American War. Army Chaplain Charles C. Pierce was in charge of the Army Morgue and Office of Identification in the Philippines. He recommended the Army outfit all soldiers with circular disks to identify those who were severely injured or killed in action.

By December 1906, the Army put out a general order that aluminum discshaped ID tags be worn by all soldiers. The half-dollar size tags were stamped with a soldier's name, rank, company and regiment or corps, and were attached to a cord or chain that went around the neck. Tags were worn under the field uniform. The order was modified in July 1916 when a second disc was required to be suspended from the first by a short string or chain. The first tag would remain with the body, while the second tag was for service record keeping. Tags were given to enlisted men, but officers had to buy them.

Eventually, all United States combat troops were required to wear tags, which then included each man's Army-issued serial number. Towards the end of World War I, religious symbols were added to the tag - C for Catholic, H for Hebrew and P for Protestant – but those markings didn't remain after the war.

The Navy didn't require ID tags until May 1917 and were made from nickel alloys with the letters U.S.N. etched on them. Enlisted member tags included date of birth and enlistment, while officers' included their date of appointment. The Navy also had an etched print of each sailor's right index finger on the back, which was meant to safeguard against fraud, accident, or misuse.

According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, the ID tags weren't used between World War I and World War II but were reinstated in May 1941 with the etching process replaced with mechanical stamping. Meanwhile, the Marines had been required to wear ID tags since late 1916 and theirs were a mix of Army and Navy styles.

By World War II, military ID tags were considered an official part of the uniform and had evolved into the size and shape they are today – a rounded rectangle of nickel-copper alloy. Each was mechanically stamped with name, rank, service number, blood type and religion, if desired. An emergency notification name and address were initially included, but were removed by the end of the war, as was the "T" which indicated a tetanus vaccination. At one point for Marines, the person's gas mask size was included on the tags. During World War II, Navy tags no longer included the fingerprint.

Present day military identification tag information includes name, blood type, Social Security Number and religious preference. It may also show the wearer's specific branch of service. There may also be tags for Special Forces like the Army Rangers, Green Berets, Delta Force, Navy Seals and so on. When a service member requires special medical attention, they may be issued an additional red tag with information much like a medical "bracelet" which alerts doctors and responders.

For hundreds of years, American warfighters desired to be properly identified should they fall in battle. This ensured dignified processing of our fallen warriors. So, despite technological advancements including the ability to use DNA to identify remains, dog tags are still issued to service members today.

What is etched onto a dog tag seems less important than the symbol it represents. Their sacrifice and service are etched into our military culture and the hearts of grateful Americans.

Lawmakers warn that VA home loans leave veterans outbid in hot housing market

By Rebecca Kheel

MILITARY.COM

Dozens of House lawmakers are concerned the Department of Veterans Affairs home loan program isn’t keeping pace with an increasingly competitive housing market and leaving veterans at a disadvantage against buyers with commercial loans.

In a recent letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough, 65 lawmakers warned that only a tiny fraction of home sellers now prefer VA loans and that veterans are turning to other options in reaction. The department should “explore how VA mortgage loans can compete in today’s marketplace and ensure veterans have negotiating power throughout the home-buying process,” the lawmakers, afrom both parties, wrote.

“Historically, VA mortgage loans were appealing and competitive to sellers,” the lawmakers said in the letter. “Unfortunately, the current housing market and the rise in cash and conventional loans with waived contingencies can leave veterans unable to compete with other buyers.”

The letter was organized by Reps. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., and Derek Kilmer, D-Wash.

Under the VA home loan program, the loans are provided by private lenders, but the VA guarantees a portion of the loan against the possibility of default. That allows borrowers to get more favorable terms than they might otherwise be able to, including no down payments, lower interest rates and limited closing costs.

But the program also requires a VA appraisal of the home and other qualifying steps that can lengthen the time to close a sale and frustrate buyers and sellers.

“VA borrowers are less successful than borrowers using conventional loan products, with 11% of VA borrowers changing loan products during their housing search, compared to only 1% of conventional borrowers who change financing method,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter, citing the National Association of Realtors’ 2021 survey on home loans at cdn. nar.realtor/sites/default/files/ documents/2021-loan-typesurvey-06-08-2021.pdf

In that same survey, 94% of sellers said they were most likely to accept an offer with conventional financing, compared to 1% who said they were most likely to accept an offer with a VA loan.

The VA appraisals can take an average of 14.8 business days to complete, compared to a couple days for a non-VA loan, John Bell, the acting executive director of VA’s Loan Guaranty Service, told a House committee in December.

Under those conditions, veterans are competing to buy homes in a historically hot housing market with increasing prices and decreasing inventory.

In February, the median home sale price was $357,300, an increase of 15% over last year, and there was about 1.7 months of inventory, a decrease of 0.3 month from last year, according to National Association of Realtors statistics cited in the lawmakers’ letter.

The lawmakers pressed McDonough for answers on how the VA can improve the appraisal process and public perception of the home loan program, as well as what the department thinks Congress can do to enhance it.

“We call on your department to improve the VA mortgage loan process and ask for a report on the steps the VA is taking to increase loan competitiveness,” the lawmakers wrote. “It is imperative veterans receive a competitive loan that provides them the opportunity to purchase a home.”

At the December hearing, Bell faulted “misperceptions” among sellers that “VA financing is less … desirable than conventional” loans and said more education is needed to “break the stigma” about the program. In March, the VA and the National Association of Realtors launched a video series aimed at dispelling misconceptions about the program.

Still, Bell also said the department is “consistently looking” for ways to speed up the appraisal process.

“Factors such as reduced housing stock, rising home prices, coupled with cash-only or sight-unseen purchase offers have led to conditions where all buyers with financing are facing difficulty having their offers entertained,” Bell said. “While VA is confident its policies will continue to support veterans, we stand alongside them and share their frustration by the lack of transparency in the sale offer process, the loan application process and how veteran borrowers may be perceived and dismissed.”