Do You Know Him?: Dog tags belonging to Skokie WW2 veteran go to auction

Do you have a Skokie relative who served in the United States Marine Corp? Did they fight in World War II? Were they stationed in the Pacific Theatre? 

If your answers to all those questions were “yes,” then you may be interested to learn that a Florida auction house is selling a pair of brass dog tags reportedly belonging to Cpl. Carl W. Plath, who was born in Skokie on April 27, 1924, and fought as an infantryman in World War II. He reportedly died in 1998 at the age of 74.

Centurion Auctions, a Tallahassee-based auction house, is set to open bidding on the two dog tags and associated documents at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3, a webpage from the sale room shows. The lot price was listed at $110 as of Friday, Oct. 2.

Plath was living in the 9300 block of Gross Point Road in Skokie when he enlisted with the United States Marine Corp on March 23, 1943, a photograph of the documents associated with the dog tags shows.

According to his documents, Plath worked for Bell and Gossett as a drill press operator before enlisting. He then reportedly attended an Infantry Battalion Training Center for Combat Engineers and took an 8-week “Inf BAR” course.

During the war, he reportedly served in the 6th Marine Regiment and the 8th Marine Regiment and participated in battles at Tarawa, Saipan, Tinian, Iheya Shima and Okinawa. 

Documents show that Plath specialized as an “Intel Man (636),” “Auto Rifleman (746)” and a “Rifleman (745).” His principal military duty was as an “Intel Man (636),” the auction webpage states. 

After the war, Plath participated in the occupation of Kyushu, Japan, from Sept. 24, 1945 to Dec. 8, 1945, according to the auction house. He was reportedly honorably discharged from service on Jan. 16, 1946.

The dog tags are missing chains but include the serial number of 834837. Their condition is listed as “Very good. Light wear.” The included associated documents in the lot are photocopies reproduced at the National Archives at St. Louis. The lot number is 150333.

The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.

Become a member of The Record to fund responsible news coverage for your community.

Already a member? You can make a tax-deductible donation at any time.