Identification of Booth's body

[L Verge]

(10-23-2018 06:44 AM)Gene C Wrote:  

(10-23-2018 05:30 AM)mikegriffith1 Wrote:  Furthermore, I haven't even brought up the issue of the scars on Booth's body that nobody saw on the body on the Montauk that night. Theodore Roscoe, among others, discussed this issue. Booth had several scars from accidents and altercations over the years. Nobody on the Montauk that night saw a single one of them, a very odd omission given that the Montauk witnesses were able to spot "pale" characters on a hand that could not be read unless you took a closer look at them.

I've got Roscoe's book, and to spare me having to read through it again, could you please let me know a page number or chapter the comments about Booth's scars can be found. The only one I could find was on p. 427, a quick reference to the one on his neck.

I'm not sure what state of undress Booth was in when various people identified his body, but from what I've read, most if not all were able to identify him by physical, facial appearance. The didn't need to see scars to identify him.

For those interested, Theodore Roscoe was probably one of the most knowledgeable experts on WWII submarine history and wrote a couple of highly regarded books about it.

Gene - I have never seen any reference to Booth's entire body being examined or even exposed, except for the leg and the area around the neck and head that were close to the death wound and the obvious identification of the tattoo, which would be mentioned by anyone personally familiar with Booth.

Frankly, knowing the customs and etiquette of the day, it would have been improper for even doctors to expose all of a corpse to public view (and yes, the military on board would be considered "public").

And speaking of the military on board: "* How is it that well before the autopsy began, and before Dr. Barnes had even arrived, Peddicord and Hartley just happened, by amazing coincidence, to have a picture of Booth handy? These were two sergeants who had just been assigned that night to be guards on the Montauk. What on earth were they doing with a picture of Booth? "

Research will tell you that Booth's cdv was very easy to obtain and that the War Department had it duplicated and distributed in large numbers for that time in order to assure that any of those involved in the search for the assassin would be able to more easily identify persons of interest (and we all know how many got detained and/or arrested for having similar features, hair, mustache, etc. -- make something of that...). Needless to say, personnel assigned to the D.C. area would have more access to these photos than those out in the field.

One other comment on the tattoo: Booth scratched his initials into his hand at a young age. It is doubtful that he could apply enough pressure to get that India ink deeply into the flesh like a real tattoo artist would. How large and how dark the letters were when he finished is anyone's guess, as is how straight and even they were.

Now, we know that nearly twenty years passed before the identification was made on board the Montauk. How much had the tattoo expanded given the hand's growth over the years? While India ink is indelible, how much had it faded? So many factors to consider, imo.