Latter-day Saint Identification Tag

To Be Worn Alongside Military ID Tags

Two tags come with the military uniform. This is the third one.

A matte silver-tone tag on a ball-bead chain: the front carries a sculpted Christus beneath an arch, above the name of the Church. The back carries one sentence — In case of critical incident contact a Church member or chaplain. It is not military identification and it does not replace the tags issued at processing. It rides alongside them, and it answers a question those tags can't: when someone is hurt and can't speak for himself, who does he want standing next to him?

Most men who wear one never bought it. It arrives by the box, handed to a unit before it ships out. We stock it one at a time — for the mother who wants something to put in her son's hand at the airport, for the spouse who'd rather it already be on the chain before the plane leaves, and for the man buying it for himself, who has thought about this longer than anyone in the room and would prefer not to say so out loud.

Not everyone who wants one is deploying. Firefighters wear it. Medics, police, anyone whose shift can turn into the worst day of somebody's year. The line on the back never asks what the job is. It assumes there will be a moment when someone else has to decide who to call, and it answers ahead of time.

• Front: raised, sculpted Christus-under-an-arch relief above the Church wordmark
• Back: engraved — IN CASE OF CRITICAL INCIDENT CONTACT A CHURCH MEMBER OR CHAPLAIN
• Finish: matte silver-tone metal, dog-tag silhouette
• Chain: ball-bead chain included
• How it's worn: alongside government-issued military ID tags, never in place of them
• Also carried by: firefighters, medics, and police who want the same line on their chain
• Sourced: the genuine article, purchased through the Church's Distribution Services and resold here. Nauvoo Supply Co. is an independent retailer — not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an authorized retailer for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It is a small thing to carry. That is most of why it works.