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In the first season of Mad Men, it is revealed that Don Draper was born Richard Whitman, but stole the identity "Don Draper" from a fellow soldier who died in Korea. The other soldier's body was not recognizable, so Whitman switched dog-tags with the dead man, and acted as if he was Don Draper from then on.

What was the motive for switching identities?

Was it just to cause his family to think he was dead? I understand he was ashamed of his roots, but it seems like he could just end contact and never go back. Why risk all of the hassle from stealing another guy's identity?

Or, was there something about assuming the higher rank of the other soldier, perhaps to go home from the war? I believe there was an episode where Don justified the identity theft by saying something like "I had to get out of there", but even that comment seems ambiguous.

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"What was the motive for switching identities?"

It was both to get a clean break from his past, and to escape the war.

Richard "Dick" Whitman took the identity of "Don Draper" (synonymous with "Wear Disguise") as soon as he realized the opportunity existed. By performing this transformation/exchange, Richard escaped his prior life with seemingly no chance of ever being discovered. This allowed Richard a free pass to follow a completely different life path, unburdened by his past. It has absolutely nothing to do with trying to assume the original Don Draper's actual past; Richard wanted nothing to do with Draper's prior life. He simply wanted a clean slate; a fresh start.

The death of Don Draper took place towards the end of his tour of duty, but near the start of Richard's own tour. By adopting Don's identity, Richard left Korea much earlier than he was supposed to, saving himself from the war.

By giving his family Don's body identified as his own, he provided them with a dead end, and Richard assumed that by disappearing, it would be easier to deal with Draper's family than it would be to deal with Whitman's family, if it ever came to it.

Don was never revealed to be Richard until (1) Anna Draper tracked him down privately, and (2) his younger half-brother found him during Season 1, having originally spotted Richard hiding when his parents received the casket containing the body of Don Draper, but being too young and powerless at the time to do anything about it.

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  • Thanks. I figured this was the story. Just seems like a not-well-thought-out decision, given the complications that Richard would face when he returned to from the war, and people started saying "hey you're not Don." But it's TV -- I need to suspend disbelief!
    – Shiz Z.
    Mar 5, 2013 at 22:20
  • That's what's weird to me. How can you steal someone's identity at war and then expect to not be noticed when you go home? Wouldn't it have been easier to just stay Richard and never talk to Richard's relatives again?
    – Shiz Z.
    Mar 6, 2013 at 1:24
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    I don't recall if Whitman served under Draper for a significant amount of time, but if that's the case and considering that they spent a lot of time alone (since Draper's previous subordinates deserted or got wounded or killed), it is likely Whitman learned that Draper didn't have many ties back home that could cause him trouble. Also note that Draper was close to competing his tour of duty.
    – BCdotWEB
    Dec 8, 2015 at 11:16
  • I recall that Draper was close to getting out too, but I thought at the time that the "being short" was not a thing during the Korean War (?).
    – Yorik
    Dec 8, 2015 at 16:01
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    @ShizZ. Of course it wasn't a well-thought-out decision. The opportunity presented itself (in a flashback he was mistaken for Draper,) and he seized it. And to him, it wouldn't have been easier to stay Richard. Dick was the illegitimate son of a whore with abusive parents. How could that person rise to prominence on Madison Avenue in the 50s? He wanted to create a new life and permanently divorce himself from his past. More than that, he wanted to become a new person, literally.
    – ghoppe
    Jan 12, 2016 at 22:57
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@Shiz Z: You're missing the point on a few levels...

  • Whitman wanted to completely and utterly sever all ties to his family, not just 'avoid' or break contact with them.

  • He had no intent of 'returning home' following the war -- Neither his, nor Don Draper's -- he simply wanted a Completely Fresh Start... Assuming Draper's identity got him out of the war early and in one piece, and with the ability to simply move on and start afresh, as the hobo he met as a boy, taught him to do.

  • He had no intent of assuming Don Draper's Life, he simply assumed his identity to create a new life for himself.

With regards 'never speaking to relatives again', life is rarely so clear cut, especially with regards family, and they always find Some Way of making contact (for whatever reason) By giving the Whitmans a corpse, he should have been able to make an utterly clean break (had his brother not seen him on the train, so always maintained hope to make contact again)

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Well the Real Don Draped had been there for about 3 years, so thats why he could go home atleast. Dick hadn't finished his duty yet.

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