Identified! PA - Chester Co., WhtMale 1280UMPA, 20-30, Nov'68 - Robert Corriveau

[shadowangel]

I agree, he appears to be on the younger end of the estimate. To have
"earned" the swallow tattoo by tradition, he would have had to sailed quite extensively in a short time....Possibly serving aboard a ship that travelled between the US and southwest Asia. It's a little odd to see a person with both a USMC tattoo and what is traditionally a Navy tattoo, as the two branches don't get along so well.
The corpsman idea makes a lot of sense though.

Could he have been mistakenly listed as KIA or MIA, and thusly no one has been looking for him?

 

[Richard]

... It's a little odd to see a person with both a USMC tattoo and what is traditionally a Navy tattoo, as the two branches don't get along so well.
The corpsman idea makes a lot of sense though.

Could he have been mistakenly listed as KIA or MIA, and thusly no one has been looking for him?

There is certainly a rivalry between the Navy and the Marine Corps, but actually, they get along pretty well aboard ship and in combat they work well together. Normally a sailor would NOT get a USMC bulldog tattoo, unless he had actually served in the Marine Corps or with them - as is the case with Navy Corpsmen.

More Navy Corpsmen were killed or wounded in the Viet Nam war than all other Navy rates combined. The Corpsman rate also accounts for more Medals of Honor than all other Navy rates combined. They serve very closely with the Marines. If you saw the movie "Flags of Our Fathers" about the Iwo Jima Flag raising, one of the flag raisers was a Navy Corpsman - the father of the book's author.

I do not think it very likely that this young man was listed as KIA or MIA. He certainly would have been tended to as a Wounded in Action (WIA) and his service would have been well documented in his records. I do not know the extent of his wound but it is possible that he was given a medical discharge or that his enlistment was simply up and he had not reenlisted. It is also possible that he was on active duty and is listed as a deserter.

 

[zinc]

I keep coming back to this case because the young man ought to be readily identifiable and yet is not. He is also on the Doe Network. I've looked through many of the obvious Doe Network and Charley Project missing persons cases. The only one I ever thought was a real possibility, James Elwood Brady, was apparently compared to this UID some time ago and ruled out. It isn't clear why he was ruled out, however.

Possible Match PA - Warning: Morgue photo-- UID Male Downingtown, 1968 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community


The Doe Network: Case File 1280UMPA (caution, composite is a thinly edited morgue photo)

The Doe Network: Case File 390DMWV (James Elwood Brady)

 

[zinc]

Bumping. There is some interesting discussion about this UID on his thread over in Cold Cases.

"USMC" Unidentified White Male, 20-30, Found 18 Nov 1968 near Downingtown, PA - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

 

[shadowangel]

<snipped> He certainly would have been tended to as a Wounded in Action (WIA) and his service would have been well documented in his records. I do not know the extent of his wound but it is possible that he was given a medical discharge or that his enlistment was simply up and he had not reenlisted. It is also possible that he was on active duty and is listed as a deserter.

(bolded by me) If this is in fact the case, wouldn't he have have been a candidate for a Purple Heart? I'm just trying to consider other avenues for identifying this young man.

 

[2sisters]

Seems identifiable. Unfortunatley, the answer would lie with military records I bet but givien the time frame and the amount of men going in to duty during Vietman that's a needle in a haystack.

 

[Richard]

(bolded by me) If this is in fact the case, wouldn't he have have been a candidate for a Purple Heart? I'm just trying to consider other avenues for identifying this young man.

Yes, any wound received as a result of enemy action qualifies a service member for the Purple Heart medal.

There were a lot of service men and women who served during the Viet Nam war. The problem involves narrowing down the field and focussing on known things such as possible branches or service, age, date, and other factors, such as the wounds, tattoos, etc.

Perhaps more information about this young man is available and will help narrow down the search.

He was proud of his military service and may have been planning to make it a career. What were his immediate plans? Where was he going?

The murderer knew exactly how and where to place his weapon. Death was likely very quick. Robery may have been the motive, since there is no mention of a wallet, watch, jewelry, or any personal effects.

Somebody should recognize this young man. It would be nice if an artist would draw a good likeness of him so that a wider distribution could be made without the necessity of looking at morgue photos.

 

[Button]

http://www.tattoosymbol.com/articles/bulldog.html

I thought that might come in handy. It's a color picture of the USMC tattoo.

 

[2sisters]

I wonder if the victim and murderer were traveling together?

 

[shadowangel]

I wonder if the victim and murderer were traveling together?

Hitchhiking seems the most likely scenario to me.

This case reminds me of Mr Bones, the young man also found in PA 10 years prior to this.

 

[Richard]

I think that it is a good possibility that this young man was traveling somewhere. His clothing is nice, not the type for hiking or being outside in late November weather.

He could have been hitch hiking, but it is also very likely that he had a car and could have picked up a hitch hiker who then killed him.

Thanksgiving week was the next week in November, occurring on Thursday the 28th that year. He was very likely killed on Sunday evening 17 November 1968. Perhaps he was returning home after a weekend trip somewhere.

 

[KLCD620]

Yeah, that was one of my favorite UID from Doe Network that I hope to be identified in someday. It's been 42 year too long without being ID. He deserved to have name for closure.

Both Doe Network cases of 1280UMPA (looks like under age 30) & 390DMWV (looks like older than 30) were little bit different vital statistics & facial appearances.

According to post-mortem photos (click on it) of this man: He have 1 small scar from above left eye brow & a spot birth mark from the right edge of his nose. These descriptions were no where to be found from the 390DMWV case.

http://www.pennsylvaniamissing.com/1280umpa11181968.html

 

[Bipolar Express]

It looked like a match to me too. That is really close.

 

[PaulR]

I believe I read on Doe that his prints had already been run through the military, and they didn't get a match.

 

[Julessleuther]

Believe et al...

This is somewhat off topic observation regarding this Doe vs Benjaman Kyle...I think this case is interesting. By the tattoo and the mans clothing, one would guess that he was military. However, when they ran his fingerprints, nothing was found, correct? In the Benjaman Kyle thread, there has been an ongoing debate/question whether BK was in the military, but the idea was that he was not because his fingerprints did not match up to former military. So...if this guy does turn out to have been a military man, who did not have his fingerprints on file, then perhaps there is still a chance that BK could have also been military....

 

[Cymro]

I'd say it's more than a slight chance. For this Doe, it depends on when they ran the prints. From what I understand, military fingerprint records were only paper based when there was a fire at a warehouse in 1973 which destroyed a large proportion of earlier records. As a result a lot of the data isn't available any more and pre-1973, they'd have had to do a manual search so it could easily have been missed.

As far as Benjaman is concerned, if he was no longer enlisted in 1973 (quite likely if he were born in 1948) then his fingerprint records might not have survived.

 

[KLCD620]

Bumping for this recognizable face man. He's been waiting for close 42 yrs to be ID. Give him his name for closure.

 

[PFF]

Try placing this story within either of the following magazines:
http://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/
http://www.mcleague.com/mdp/index.php?ceid=64&func=display&module=ContentExpress

:twocents:

 

[Lil'E]

Does anybody know if it is possible to find a list of AWOL persons from the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove PA in 1968? The Marine Corp is a subdivision of the Navy and it is possible he was stationed there. In my search attemps all I can come up with are MIA's. Need to refine my searching abilities. It may be well worth looking into??

 

[someoneschild]

What do you think of Anthony Peter Tumolo as a potential match. I realize the the circumstances are questionable but based on physical features I thought I would throw it out here. Would love to see the mystery solved for both of these boys.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/t/tumolo_anthony.html

Tumolo went missing from Philadelphia, PA. at the age of 14 on October 15, 1966. He weighed 110 and was 5'2.

The UID was found on November 18, 1968 in Downingtown, PA.
He weighed 160 pounds and was 5'6-his estimated age is 20-30.

4 inches and 50 pounds in two years doesn't seem impossible but from what we know about the UID, Tumolo would have had to do "a lot of living" in those two years.

There is no Namus file for Tumolo and no mention of DNA or dentals--therefore I am assuming these two have not been compared.

The UID's file indicates that the UID was exhumed and DNA was collected.


Warning Morgue Photos-Side-by-Side