– https://www.thv11.com/article/news/crime/with-his-true-identity-revealed-what-was-robert-nichols-hiding/91-566731191 — Full text read. Key: theories examined by investigators (Nazi war criminal, spy, Zodiac); packed suitcase; “they’re closing in” phrasing; fingerprints from military files being uploaded; Phillip Nichols Cincinnati; $82,000 not left to son; Marshall Elliott quote on reason.
– https://www.cleveland19.com/story/38477481/us-marshals-release-name-of-man-who-stole-joseph-newton-chandlers-identity/ — Full text read. Key: Eastlake police to Marshals handoff; Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner DNA profile; Stephen Campbell ruled out; tips line (216) 522-4482; no confirmed criminal record; electrical designer and draftsman; Indianapolis stated as birthplace (discrepancy noted below).
– https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/cleveland-metro/cold-case-cracked-the-man-who-lived-with-the-identity-of-a-dead-9-year-old-boy-for-decades — Full text read. Key: Phil Nichols in Cincinnati; first Marshals forensic genealogy case; DNA matched son; private investigator found Chandler identity was false (estate search); body badly decomposed, no fingerprints, cremated.
– https://www.fox13now.com/2018/06/22/dna-testing-revealed-a-wwii-veteran-stole-an-8-year-olds-identity-no-one-knows-why — Full text read. Confirms: 1978 Social Security card Rapid City South Dakota; worked as electrician in Ohio; first Marshals forensic genealogy case; no criminal record; 1965 letter California last contact; 1965 missing persons report.
– https://ktla.com/news/local-news/ww-ii-veteran-who-vanished-in-1964-sent-family-last-letter-from-california-stole-id-of-deceased-boy-dna-testing/amp/ — Full text read. Confirms: Michigan, Oklahoma, California movements; “in due time” told to wife; third-cousin match from GEDmatch; Phil confirmed Aaron Ward.
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Aaron_Ward_(DM-34) — Full text read. Details May 3, 1945 kamikaze attacks off Okinawa, ship’s damage, flooding, fires, tow to Kerama Retto, decommissioning September 28, 1945, Presidential Unit Citation.
**Source discrepancies noted**
– Birthplace: Cleveland19 gives Indianapolis as birthplace; Wikipedia, InsideHook, and multiple other sources give New Albany, Indiana. New Albany is used throughout as the majority-source consensus and the location consistent with the parents’ documented connection there.
– Child’s age at death: some sources say 8, others 9. Born March 11, 1937; died December 21, 1945 — age 8 at death. “8-year-old” is correct; “9-year-old” appears to be an error in some sources.
– Phil Nichols’ location: Patch and Cuyahoga/WKYC sources confirm Cincinnati; no conflict found.
– “Laverne Korte” / “LaVerne Kort”: name spelling varies by source. Both versions used; the correct spelling is not established from accessible primary documents.
– Whether Nichols served as a “fireman” (Navy rating) or simply “firefighter” (role during attack): InsideHook says “Navy fireman”; context from Aaron Ward history is consistent with this.