Phil Nichols kept it. The letter from Napa, California, in 1965, containing a penny, is Phil’s memory of his father — his last communication, his final contact, the last thing he received before his father ceased to be Robert Ivan Nichols in any accessible sense and eventually became someone else entirely.
Whether Phil ever learned what the penny meant — whether he asked his father’s memory, whether he found any peace in the question or simply set it aside as one of the unanswerable things that the case had left behind — is not something the public record addresses.
What the record does address is Phil’s statement after the identification: no animosity, no anger, peace. After more than fifty years of not knowing, he received a name. He did not receive a reason.
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*Slug:* robert-ivan-nichols-joseph-chandler-dead-boy-identity-dna-ohio
*Meta description:* Robert Ivan Nichols lived as a dead boy named Joseph Chandler for decades. A degraded DNA sample and forensic genealogy finally revealed his real name — but never his reasons.
*Category:* True Crime & Identity Mysteries
*Thumbnail hook:* He stole a dead child’s identity and vanished for decades. DNA finally gave him back his name — but not his secret.
*Tracking ID:* BM-CANDIDATE-052
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## Source Notes
**Primary sources consulted and access status**
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Newton_Chandler_III — Full text read. Most comprehensive single source; aggregates confirmed facts across multiple earlier reports. Key facts: Robert Ivan Nichols birthdate September 12, 1926; New Albany, Indiana; parents Silas and Alpha Nichols; married Laverne Korte 1947; three sons; GE draftsman; 1964 departure; 1965 last contact from Napa; Social Security through ~1976; Rapid City South Dakota 1978; Joseph Newton Chandler III died December 21, 1945 near Sherman, Texas; child born March 11, 1937 Buffalo; Edko Company then Lubrizol Wickliffe Ohio; electrical designer and draftsman; laid off 1997; Eastlake apartment; death approximately July 23, 2002, found July 30; .38 Charter Arms revolver; colon cancer diagnosis; calendar marks; packed bag $82,000; cremated; 2014 Marshals takeover; 2016 Identifinders Y-STR result (Nicholas/Nichols); DNA Doe Project 2018; March 2018 Phil Nichols DNA confirmation; June 21, 2018 press conference; USS Aaron Ward; Purple Heart; burned uniforms; white noise; Maine trip; 1989 hospital visit; homemade electronics; fictitious sister Mary Wilson Columbus address; claimed sister; Zodiac and DB Cooper theories; Stephen Campbell ruled out; computer Nazism/explosives searches; CODIS 2014 no hit; Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner.