Medical Department, form 52b ‘Emergency Medical Tag’ (Revised November 5, 1942)
Medical personnel was supposed to fill out an Emergency Medical Tag for each casualty. Just as doctors and nurses do in todays hospitals, it is critical to have the patients’ name and identity number. During World War II the medical and graves registration units used a similar administrative system. The Emergency Medical Tag, or EMT for short, was attached to the casualty’s clothing by its cotton string, usually over the breast, or as near as possible to it for ease of reading by medical personnel. When soldiers were killed in action (KIA) or died of wounds (DOW), the EMT attached to the body would be removed by the medical personnel accompanying the burial party from the Graves Registration Service to complete paperwork.
There are several types and versions of this EMT booklet. They differ slightly. This november 5 1942 version is the most common edition.
Photo taken on June 12, 1944 at the Omaha Beach Collecting Point, showing Sergeant Peter F. Slusarczyk, 603rd Quartermaster Graves Registration Company, filling in the EMT of a killed-in-action (KIA) soldier. The temporary military cemetery at Sainte-Mère-Eglise Cemetery was about to open at this day. After completing the paperwork, this fallen soldier would have been buried there.More in Equipment:
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