A military history Web site is encouraging veterans to show their support of our current soldiers,
sailors and airmen in a novel way. The Web site, www.war-books.com, wants veterans of all
branches of our armed forces to wear their original dog tags to work, school, shopping and
wherever they go in the next six months to show their support for the men and women in our
armed forces now.
The publisher of war-books.com, Walter Haan, a veteran of the U.S. Army during the Vietnam
era, remembers that "We were supposed to wear our dog tags under our shirts at all times."
Now he suggests that veterans from as far back as World War II wear their old dog tags outside
their shirts. "Whether dressed casually or more formally for work or church, veterans should
now put their original dog tags back on, over their clothes, to show their support for America's
future veterans as they go in harms way," says Haan. "It's the right thing to do," he adds.
To further encourage veterans to wear their old dog tags now, www.war-books.com will publish
on the Web site photos of veterans wearing their dog tags. The Web site asks veterans to send
snapshots of themselves with their dog tags clearly visible. Photos in color or black and white
are acceptable and may be e-mailed as jpeg or gif attachments to southfar@ix.netcom.com.
The photos may also be mailed to www.war-books.com, P.O. Box 1296, Middletown, Connecticut
06457. "The earlier we receive the photos, the earlier we'll be able to display them on the web,"
says Haan.
Veterans should provide their full names, current addresses, phone numbers, dates when they
served, branch of service, and their rank upon discharge with the photos. Asked how many
photos would be displayed, Haan replied that the company would attempt to show them all at
least for a few days, depending on the number of photos received.
Haan suggests that all veterans wear their tags up to and including May 10, 2002, the sixtieth
anniversary of the surrender of American and Filipino troops to the Japanese in the Philippines
during World War II. "This way, we get to honor the men and women who are fighting terrorism
now as a result of the September 11th 'Day of Infamy' and those who fought 60 years ago
during the early days of our involvement in World War II because of the December 7, 1941
'Day of Infamy.'"
http://www.war-books.com
SOUTHFARM PRESS, Military History Publisher
P.O. Box 1296, Middletown, CT 06457
(860) 346-8798; Fax: (860) 347-9931; e-mail: southfar@ix.netcom.com
Contact: Wanda Webb