Dog Tag Histories Get in touch

The war they never talked about, made into a film your family will watch.

Send us scans of the letters, photos and service papers your family saved. We turn them into a short narrated film, and can add what their unit's own records show. You approve every fact before it's finished.

Get in touch

A sample of the format. This letter and report are invented.

They came home and didn't say much. The papers say more.

Most families have a discharge paper, a few photos, maybe a box of letters. What's missing is the story of where they were and what they did. Much of it is still on record, in pages most of the family will never read. A twelve minute film is something everyone will watch.

How it works

Three steps, and you have the last word.

  1. Send what you have

    Letters, photos, discharge papers, a unit name. We work from scans or phone photos, so your originals stay with you.

  2. Read the story first

    We write up the story with a source for every fact. You correct it and decide what's left out.

  3. Watch it together

    You get a 10 to 12 minute film with one question at the end for your family to talk about.

What you get

One story, told well.

  • A 10 to 12 minute filmShort enough to watch together, long enough to tell one real story.
  • Their own wordsWhere they wrote letters or a journal, the narration comes from them.
  • Your photos and pages on screenTheir handwriting, their faces, the places they were.
  • A file that's yours to keepPlus a private link to share with family.
  • A list of every sourceEach letter, photo and record in the film, and where it came from.

Our promises

Nothing invented.

  • No acted scenes, no AI facesWe don't dramatize or guess. You see their real photos, never a generated likeness.
  • Their voice only if you askIf you have recordings, we can recreate their voice to read their own words. The film says it is recreated.
  • Every source is labeledLetters, unit records and background history are marked apart, and we say what the records can't tell us.
  • You approve it before it's madeEvery fact, and everything that's included.
  • Your material stays privateIt's used to make your film and nothing else.

Why this exists

These stories are one generation from being lost.

The letters are in a closet. The service papers are in a file. The unit's daily reports are in an archive. Each one holds a piece, and almost nobody in the family has seen them put together. A short film is a way to do that while there are still people who remember him.

Tell us who served.

Please add your name.

Please add an email we can reply to.

Which war? Optional
What do you have? Pick all that apply

Pick at least one so we know where you're starting.

Is the writing mostly handwritten or typed? Optional
Service records research Optional
What would a film like this be worth to your family? Optional

We use what you enter here only to reply to you about your family's film. We don't sell or share it, and you can ask us to delete it at any time. We count page visits without cookies or tracking.

Got it. Thank you.

Questions

What does it cost?

It depends on how much material there is and whether you want service records research. We'll give you a price after we've talked through what you have, before any work starts.

What if all we have is a name and a unit?

That can be enough to start. With records research we look for the unit's reports for the dates they served and tell you what exists before you commit to anything.

Weren't those records lost in a fire?

A 1973 fire in St. Louis destroyed most individual Army personnel files from that era. Unit records were kept separately and many survive, which is why we work from those.

Which wars and branches do you cover?

We're starting with the U.S. Army in World War II. If yours is different, tell us in the form and we'll say honestly whether we can do it well.

Our letters are handwritten. Is that a problem?

No. Transcribing handwriting is extra work, so it's quoted separately based on how much there is.

Some of it is hard to hear. Who decides what goes in?

You do. You read the whole story before anything is made, and nothing goes in without your say.

Do you use AI?

Yes, as a tool. It helps us read and organize the material, and the narrator's voice is AI generated. If you have recordings of your family member and want it, that voice can be modeled on theirs. A person edits every film, and nothing reaches the screen until your family has approved it.