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Post by gorgeouskid on Nov 7, 2023 20:10:43 GMT
My uncle died a couple of weeks ago from complications from a fall (he was pretty elderly). My aunt sent his obituary today which was a lovely way to remember him. It had all kinds of cool information, including his military record. My husband loves military things, so he googled uncle.
There is someone buried in a national cemetery in California (we live in CA) with the same exact (relatively uncommon) name, same birthdate, same rank, same branch of service, same war, but died 29 years ago. There are only two pieces of information that I've been able to Google with that information, my uncle and the grave. No other information comes up.
I called the cemetery and they had me call Eligibility, but they can't do anything more without uncle's social security or service record number. I don't want to upset aunt yet (I'll definitely tell her eventually), but what if she wants him buried in a national cemetery? Then she'll find out that there's possibly an imposter.
I'm a little freaked out that there's possibly someone who stole my uncle's identity 29 years ago.
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Post by Tearisci on Nov 7, 2023 20:27:12 GMT
Oh wow, that is way too much info in common to be a coincidence. I hope you can get some closure!
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Post by littlemama on Nov 7, 2023 20:28:16 GMT
I dont see a need to say anything to your aunt. She will have his DD-214 and death certificate, so should be fine to have him buried there.
Operate as if you had not googled his name.
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Post by Mel on Nov 7, 2023 20:29:13 GMT
Wow! Yeah, very strange... with the military involvement though, you would think it wouldn't have been that easy to have happen. I hope it's sorted out without much heartache. I'm sorry for the loss of your uncle.
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snyder
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,958 
Location: Colorado
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Post by snyder on Nov 7, 2023 22:00:01 GMT
Really strange. Could he have had a first wife that died then? When the wife of a qualified service member is buried prior to the veteran, the one side of the marker has the vets name, but not the death date and they will ad that when the time comes.
Hope you guys and find out excatly what is going on for peace of mind.
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Post by scraplette on Nov 7, 2023 22:15:55 GMT
Operate as if you had not googled his name. I doubt you could do anything anyway, except cause doubts. In my limited experience with military funerals only specific survivors can make arrangements, ask questions, etc. For example, the army required the oldest sibling to sign all documents, even though they were neither executor nor had power of attorney. We dont know if it was based on some long ago signed form, or archaic tradition. We just had to roll with it… Condolences to your family. I hope this is just a coincidence! |
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Post by malibou on Nov 7, 2023 22:19:50 GMT
I hope this might be some tremendously bizarre coincidence.
I may be able to get some more info on this if you would like to PM me.
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Post by disneypal on Nov 7, 2023 22:29:49 GMT
That is very odd, I mean I guess it could be a coincidence but it would be really unusual.
I have a Fold 3 (military) and Ancestry membership as well as newspapers.com (so can search for obits) - if you’d like me to do some checking in these sites, you can DM me his name, DOB and any other info that may be helpful and I’d be glad to check these sites.
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Post by AussieMeg on Nov 7, 2023 22:37:29 GMT
Wow! Those details seem way too similar to be a co-incidence!
I'm sorry for the loss of your uncle. I don't think I'd want to tell my aunt, for fear of upsetting her further.
But man, this is a mystery that needs to be solved! I am invested in this story.
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Post by rymeswithpurple on Nov 7, 2023 22:46:56 GMT
But man, this is a mystery that needs to be solved! I am invested in this story. Right?! It sounds like something from Unsolved Mysteries! (Man, I am horrendous with quick quotes!) |
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Nov 7, 2023 22:58:06 GMT
A former boss of mine died and there was no obituary and no funeral which was quite odd as he was a larger-than-life presence in the town. My theory is that all of that was omitted because he was NOT the person he presented himself to be in town. For example, he claimed to be a West Point graduate, but my cousin's husband could find no record of him ever even having attended West Point much less graduating from it. (My cousin's husband not only *is* a West Point grad but also served there during his Army career managing the base and facilities. He had more than enough access to prove my old boss wrong.) People pretend to have military credentials they don't have all the time.
Since your uncle died a few weeks ago, I assume the funeral has already occurred. Only you know your aunt well enough to know if this is something she would want to know... or if it would upset her too much. If she's qualifying for all the benefits with no issues, you may want to let sleeping dogs lie.
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Nov 7, 2023 23:33:08 GMT
That is a whole lot of unusual stuff!!
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Post by mom on Nov 7, 2023 23:36:49 GMT
I am so sorry about your uncle. I would see disneypal could dig anything up with her resources before saying anything to your aunt. |
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Post by littlemama on Nov 8, 2023 0:14:07 GMT
I am so sorry about your uncle. I would see disneypal could dig anything up with her resources before saying anything to your aunt. What does she have to gain by telling her aunt any of this? Some things are best left alone and this is one of them. It is going to cause her aunt pain, no matter the outcome. Aunt will have the DD-214 and death certificate which is all she will need to have him buried. |
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Post by Lurkingpea on Nov 8, 2023 0:14:45 GMT
Wow! Those details seem way too similar to be a co-incidence! I'm sorry for the loss of your uncle. I don't think I'd want to tell my aunt, for fear of upsetting her further. But man, this is a mystery that needs to be solved! I am invested in this story. I agree. Having the same name, even if it’s unusual, is one thing. Having the same birthday and the same military career is clearly too much to be just a coincidence. I don’t see any benefit of telling your aunt. Especially if she is still grieving but curiosity would not allow me to just let this go. I would contact one of the peas who offered to help above and see if they can’t see what is going on. |
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Post by mom on Nov 8, 2023 0:45:34 GMT
I am so sorry about your uncle. I would see disneypal could dig anything up with her resources before saying anything to your aunt. What does she have to gain by telling her aunt any of this? Some things are best left alone and this is one of them. It is going to cause her aunt pain, no matter the outcome. Aunt will have the DD-214 and death certificate which is all she will need to have him buried. Im not saying she has anything to gain. All I am saying is if she feels like she needs to say something, wait until she has more facts. |
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Post by Basket1lady on Nov 8, 2023 4:33:50 GMT
It could be that the information on the site is incorrect. 30 years ago, a lot wasn’t digitized and name mix ups occurred. DH has an unusual last name and we had all sorts of issues last summer when we moved back from Belgium. There was another service member also moving within the states. He had the same last name (but not same firstname) and DH would constantly get his moving details. Really, there was no excuse for that!
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Nov 8, 2023 5:20:27 GMT
I forget when the fire was, but weren't a lot of WWII era records lost?
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blue tulip
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,986
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Post by blue tulip on Nov 8, 2023 13:22:46 GMT
A former boss of mine died and there was no obituary and no funeral which was quite odd as he was a larger-than-life presence in the town. My theory is that all of that was omitted because he was NOT the person he presented himself to be in town. For example, he claimed to be a West Point graduate, but my cousin's husband could find no record of him ever even having attended West Point much less graduating from it. (My cousin's husband not only *is* a West Point grad but also served there during his Army career managing the base and facilities. He had more than enough access to prove my old boss wrong.) People pretend to have military credentials they don't have all the time. Since your uncle died a few weeks ago, I assume the funeral has already occurred. Only you know your aunt well enough to know if this is something she would want to know... or if it would upset her too much. If she's qualifying for all the benefits with no issues, you may want to let sleeping dogs lie. oh that's interesting.. what if uncle is the imposter?! |
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Post by Mary_K on Nov 8, 2023 14:57:59 GMT
This is a very interesting mystery!
Keep us posted with any more to the story!
Mary K
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Post by Darcy Collins on Nov 8, 2023 17:11:33 GMT
A former boss of mine died and there was no obituary and no funeral which was quite odd as he was a larger-than-life presence in the town. My theory is that all of that was omitted because he was NOT the person he presented himself to be in town. For example, he claimed to be a West Point graduate, but my cousin's husband could find no record of him ever even having attended West Point much less graduating from it. (My cousin's husband not only *is* a West Point grad but also served there during his Army career managing the base and facilities. He had more than enough access to prove my old boss wrong.) People pretend to have military credentials they don't have all the time. Since your uncle died a few weeks ago, I assume the funeral has already occurred. Only you know your aunt well enough to know if this is something she would want to know... or if it would upset her too much. If she's qualifying for all the benefits with no issues, you may want to let sleeping dogs lie. oh that's interesting.. what if uncle is the imposter?! I wouldn't use the word imposter, but I did wonder if there was some confusion from the Aunt or what had been told to the Aunt. I've found some really "interesting" obituaries. People can publish whatever they like - no one is verifying anything in them. |
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Nov 8, 2023 18:12:13 GMT
Another reason death certificates are not used for accurate genealogy searches, although they can be helpful, very helpful. They are only as good as the person who provides the info, whether accurate or not! Few are confirmed.
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Post by scrappintoee on Nov 18, 2023 23:58:12 GMT
Any updates?
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Post by lisacharlotte on Nov 19, 2023 5:21:53 GMT
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Post by cecilia on Nov 19, 2023 13:47:22 GMT
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