Is it disrespectful to wear dog tags?
My grandpa died before I was born, and while going through his old boxes we found his WWII dog tag, which my mom said I could keep. I wore it, not knowing it could be taken as a sign of disrespect, and a senior at my high school who is in the army apparently told me it was disrespectful to wear it outside of your shirt. Is it? I don't want to offend or disrespect anyone.
Is it illegal to impersonate a soldier???
Yes. If you impersonate any military member by wearing a uniform, you are in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. Section 702). If you impersonate a decorated soldier, you are in violation of the Stolen Valor Act (18 U.S.C. Section 704). Technically, having the distinctive US ARMY, US NAVY, US AIR FORCE OR US MARINES tags on a fatigue shirt or BDU blouse that you purchased at the local surplus store is also a violation of the US Code. I'm really glad they've passed this law. In 1987, when I was in Flushing, NY, some moron was walking around wearing his grandfather's Medal of Honor (at least that is who he told us it belonged to). The local police would not take any action. He wasn't wearing a uniform, just the medal. Both myself and the local recruiter tired to impress on him what a dishonor he was doing to his grandfather's memory, but this idiot just didn't get the picture.