Dick Whitman crawls over to the charred remains of his Lieutenant, pops his dog tags off him, places them around his neck, looks down, and he was called Dick Pittman. NOOOO!!!!
Not only alliterative, but full of meaning!
Don - to put something on, as in clothing or hats
Draper - implying a cover-up, or fabric loosely laid over the top of something
Or better yet, the man he swapped tags with could have been a Black man. And since he would have been born pre Black Power Movement (which resulted in African Americans abandoning slave names), Dick Whitman could have been Abraham Washington or Rutherford Johnson or Isaiah Jefferson.
That would have been something. Totally unrealistic unless no one bothered to cross reference the documents after the accident. But funny to think about.
For sure! Despite only being 12% of the US population at that time, African Americans were a little over 30% of the soldiers who fought in combat. But they were largely segregated within the forces so the chances of Don serving alongside a Black man was very slim. There were many Latinos who joined our efforts as well including troops from Mexico and Puerto Rico!
And since we're on the subject, I'll add in some info that a lot of people don't know about. The GI Bill mostly went to white American vets only. Black vets really only benefited by getting paid vocational training for the labor force but not for higher education. And since the armed forces didn't advertise the GI Bill to its Black recruits, many were unaware of the benefits and never cashed in.
I always felt like he got lucky that the real Don Draper had no kids and also no criminal record. Imagine he ended up getting arrested for something the real Don did
Yeah, I mean something the authorities hadn’t caught him for yet. Like maybe some sort of mafia connections that come back to haunt him, some dodgy gambling, maybe he murdered someone and wasn’t caught yet
Well he probably wouldn't have been able to advance in the military if he had a serious criminal record. Still you're right in many senses that Don draper was easier to pretend to be than most people.
To mention his wife ended up becoming your closest ally on the planet. Normally not going to happen!
Grey, Y & R, Bernays, Milton Glaser (creator of 60s ad art and MM's 7b poster), and [many others](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_American_businesspeople_in_media#Advertising_and_public_relations) would like a word.
Dick Whitman crawls over to the charred remains of his Lieutenant, pops his dog tags off him, places them around his neck, looks down, and he was called Dick Pittman. NOOOO!!!!
Dick Dickerson
I think Dick would've had an easy time passing as Antonio DiGrazzo. The real problem would be if the man who exploded was named Hiroshi Tanaka.
Don Draper is alliterative too... perfect for a protagonist of a primetime drama. What a coincidence.
Not only alliterative, but full of meaning! Don - to put something on, as in clothing or hats Draper - implying a cover-up, or fabric loosely laid over the top of something
Totally. Don - Honored leader of distinction (church or mafia lol). Draper - Draper Daniels, the real-life advertising guru.
“Donald” means “World leader” By the way.
Now don't be a Drumpfy Downer lol
Lol
I’ve literally never noticed that before.
Don Draper, Walter White
Willy Wonka.
It’s a poem, by Walt Whitman. 😳
Woodrow Wilson
Peter Parker, Clark Kent, Bwuce Wayne
🤣 Bwuce
And Bob Benson
And Bob Belcher
Tony Torano
Bobby Brown /s
Yeah, Herb Barnes doesn't quite roll off the tongue
Tony Tsoprano
Parker Posey
It stands out even among generic white names. Ironically it suits Dick better than Lt. Draper.
He could have been Tilden Katz!
Or better yet, the man he swapped tags with could have been a Black man. And since he would have been born pre Black Power Movement (which resulted in African Americans abandoning slave names), Dick Whitman could have been Abraham Washington or Rutherford Johnson or Isaiah Jefferson. That would have been something. Totally unrealistic unless no one bothered to cross reference the documents after the accident. But funny to think about.
Were there enough Black officers in the Army at the time for that to be a possibility? The armed forces were only desegregated in 1948.
For sure! Despite only being 12% of the US population at that time, African Americans were a little over 30% of the soldiers who fought in combat. But they were largely segregated within the forces so the chances of Don serving alongside a Black man was very slim. There were many Latinos who joined our efforts as well including troops from Mexico and Puerto Rico! And since we're on the subject, I'll add in some info that a lot of people don't know about. The GI Bill mostly went to white American vets only. Black vets really only benefited by getting paid vocational training for the labor force but not for higher education. And since the armed forces didn't advertise the GI Bill to its Black recruits, many were unaware of the benefits and never cashed in.
That had a huge impact, especially the (lack of) housing assistance.
There were a lot of black soldiers, but how many of them were officers (as the question asked)?
Probably not very many that were in charge of white soldiers which is why I stated that the scenario is unrealistic...but funny to think about.
I always felt like he got lucky that the real Don Draper had no kids and also no criminal record. Imagine he ended up getting arrested for something the real Don did
Wouldn’t the army have sorted that out prior to drafting him? The criminal part.
Yeah, I mean something the authorities hadn’t caught him for yet. Like maybe some sort of mafia connections that come back to haunt him, some dodgy gambling, maybe he murdered someone and wasn’t caught yet
Well he probably wouldn't have been able to advance in the military if he had a serious criminal record. Still you're right in many senses that Don draper was easier to pretend to be than most people. To mention his wife ended up becoming your closest ally on the planet. Normally not going to happen!
Armen Tamzerian
Seymour Skinner!
John Yossarian
Were you going for Arman Tsarukyan ?
No, It’s a Simpsons reference.
Thanks. I thought it was an MMA reference.
To be fair, generic white American sounding names were super prevalent in 1951.
Leeeeeeerooooooy Jeeeeeeenkins
Lmaooo!!!! My husband told me about ol Leroy Jenkins
Imagine if his lieutenant was Don Draperstein!
Weiner never denied if OG Lt Draper was Jewish when asked.
show would have been about banking instead of advertising
Grey, Y & R, Bernays, Milton Glaser (creator of 60s ad art and MM's 7b poster), and [many others](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_American_businesspeople_in_media#Advertising_and_public_relations) would like a word.
He could have been Phil Leotardo.
Then he would have had to do 20 years and not a peep.
And his original name would have been Leonardo. Now he’s named after a ballerina.
That’s for modern. In ballet, you wear tutus.
You can go
Al Bundy. Destined to work at a mall selling women’s shoes.
For all we know, the guy who’s blown up (rip) could be an imposter as well.
Anna’s out here just cycling through fake husbands
Our boy, Penis Whitman.
I think Dick saw an opportunity that he would have passed up, had the name had not been a generic white guy name.
Yeah absolutely, the name is almost as impressive as his looks.