Fort Stewart’s former first lady, Ginger Cucolo, wife of former 3rd Infantry Division Commander Maj. Gen. Tony Cucolo, was back in the area Thursday for a special book signing of her recently released book, “Dog Tags: The History, Personal Stories, Cultural Impact and Future of Military Identification.”
Cucolo autographed copies of her new book at the Hinesville Area Arts Council and explained how she came to write a book about those little metal tags worn by U.S. military personnel for more than 100 years.
“This little piece of metal means so much to some people,” she said as she briefly discussed the history of how bodies of American soldiers were identified on the battlefield prior to the Spanish-American War (1898). “During the Civil War, soldiers on both side pinned notes with their name and home address on their uniform. The Army’s Graves Registration was assigned to issue metal identification tags to soldiers around 1906. The Marine Corps soon followed, then the Navy.”

Read more about "Dog Tags" in the Nov. 9 edition of the News.