NM NM - Harvey 'Gene' Whitacre, 20, Albuquerque, 30 June 1947

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Alot of things don't add up at all do they.

Robbery looks like a strong motive at first, until you dig. I find it incomprehensible that the fees due for the bowling league was $400 in 1947! Was this the most expensive bowling alley in the world? None of those soldiers would've been able to afford such an expensive league. Its also crazy that he was wandering around with such a substantial sum. I believe this was a mistake or that whoever said he had that amount was lying about where it came from.
Then we have the crime scene. If it occurred in that alley then it seems that someone stabbed/slashed him, but not enough to cause severe blood loss. They then made him remove his shirt, cap, necktie and glasses and took his semi naked body with them. These are not the actions of a mugger!

Espionage. It's a compelling theory, made more so by the actions of the FBI after his disappearance. But I don't think this was responsible for his disappearance or murder. That crime scene, if staged, was not staged by professionals. A professional who wanted to off Gene would have made sure this looked like a robbery-murder and that a body was found. End of story, case closed. This just left an everlasting mystery and made people dig, they wouldn't want that surely?
I think it's more likely the scene was staged by someone who had no idea what they were doing, possibly even Gene himself (i dont believe this because he's not gonna leave $2000 in his bank account!).

Finally we have to look at at his comrades, specifically the ones on the bowling league who knew he had the money and where he was. I have one major issue with the idea that they robbed him for the league money--it doesn't make sense! So, Gene has their money. He hasn't paid the leagues dues yet. If they robbed him, they were robbing themselves! They'd only have had to pay out that amount again when their fees were due, since Gene hadn't paid! Rather then murder someone you could just ask for your money and not be in the league.
I exclude the other league members.
But I do not exclude anyone else who happened to be at the bowling alley, saw all of this cash being handed over and then followed and robbed him.

...but I'm left with the scene that makes me think robbery is unlikely. Robbers don't tend to hide their victims after stripping them, they usually flee quickly. I was trying to make sense of the scene and work out any way it could have been "real". My only thoughts were that maybe he ripped his shirt and got some cuts in an accident and for some reason removed them or that this was a sexual thing. Neither of these makes any sense!

so, I don't think it was Gene himself, I don't think it was his bowling league buddies, I don't think it was a professional hit. So what do I think...I don't know haha
 
Ciriii57 said:
Robbery looks like a strong motive at first, until you dig. I find it incomprehensible that the fees due for the bowling league was $400 in 1947! Was this the most expensive bowling alley in the world? None of those soldiers would've been able to afford such an expensive league. Its also crazy that he was wandering around with such a substantial sum. I believe this was a mistake or that whoever said he had that amount was lying about where it came from.
Click to expand...
He was treasurer of a bowling league. They usually consisted of 8 teams of 4 people each team. 32 people divided by $400 = $12.50 per person. Below is a bowling alley in Nevada built in 1947 with the standard 8 lanes to accommodate 8 teams.

Other interesting notes about this case gleaned from the newspapers... Sources: Historical Newspapers from 1700s-2000s - Newspapers.com The Kokomo Tribune, 17 Jul 1947, Thu ·Page 1, reports that Whitacre had a 24 hour leave to go into Albuquerque with a bowling team from the base on the night of July 1. He was not seen leaving the bowling alley. He was reported to have been assigned to a unit commanded by an officer highly important in this work (atomic bomb operations). In such a position he had to be accounted for at all times.

(1) His teammates were also from the base and obviously, since this was league night and he was treasurer of the bowling league, he collected league fees from the probable 32 man league, which included his team.
(2) He was not seen leaving the bowling alley, so one would assume that is where he disappeared from. Was that building even searched? For all we know, his body could still be there. (Sport Bowl closed in 1951) Could he have slipped out the back door (if there even was one) without anyone noticing ?
(3) If he was on a 24 hour pass, how was he accounted for during that time if he had to be accounted for at all times? What about his teammates? Were they in the same classification as Whitacre?

(4) Source: Historical Newspapers from 1700s-2000s - Newspapers.com The Kokomo Tribune, Tuesday, Oct 16, 1945, states that three Selective Service registrants were sent to Indianapolis by Howard County Draft Board No. 1; Harvey Eugene Whitacre and two other men from town, Norman Charles Vigue and Billy Eugene Besser.

So, he was drafted and was not enlisted. (WWII, BTW, ended September 2, 1945)
The newspapers all said he enlisted in Nov 1945. It was actually 19 Oct 1945.

The following article says that police were investigating a Los Angeles couple suspected of robbing a Kirtland Field soldier of $125 last Tuesday night after a drinking spree. Named in the complaint were Betty Juanita Johnson, James Courneya and John and Jane Doe.

Albuquerque Journal 06 Jul 1947, Sun ·Page 4 and the
Albuquerque Journal 05 Jul 1947, Sat ·Page 1 "The Class A pass issued to Whitaker was found in mail delivered to the base. The pass was delivered uncovered, since the Sandia Base address was printed on the pass and bore no postage."

The Albuquerque Tribune 05 Jul 1947, Sat ·Pages 1- 4, "The return of the soldier's pass to Sandia Base by mail last Thursday."
"Sgt Whitacre's personal effects were found in the alley (behind 312 W. Gold Ave. between Gold and Silver) by City Patrolman Noel Loney at 2 am Wednesday, two days after the soldier disappeared."
"(District Attorney) Brown said that Sgt. Whitaker had earned extra money by working in an E. Central bowling alley (Sport Bowl 3005 East Central Ave.), but added that the $500 he was carrying the night he disappeared was not his own. Brown said that Whitaker acted as "treasurer" for other soldiers at Sandia and carried their money for them."
(I believe the bowling alley he disappeared from is the same one he worked at. I'm not sure. I couldn't find any other bowling alleys in the newspapers that were operating in Abuquerque in June/July 1947)

Albuquerque Journal, 04 Jul 1947, Fri ·Page 3 "Employment Male Help Wanted Pin Boy. Sport Bowl. 3005 E. Central."

His Expiration of Term of Service (ETS) would have been October 19, 1947, about four months away from when he disappeared. Interesting, too, is how we never heard a peep out of his Army buddies from his Army unit or from his Army bowling team.

The 2761st Engineer Battalion (Special), which became a field unit under the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP) was taking over the nuclear bomb assembly function at Sandia Base. They were activated 19 August 1946. They were redesignated as the 38th Engineer Battalion (Special) on 1 May 1947.
The fabrication, assembly, and storage of nuclear weapons was also done at Sandia Base. The Operation CROSSROADS project, July 1, 1946 July 25, 1946, had ended Sept 1946.
By the end of June 1947, every officer and most of the enlisted men had participated in three or more assembly operations and a number of special projects.
Click to expand...


8lanebowling.png

draft.jpg
 
Hi @Quoththeraven Thanks for the info, and I am hoping you can help me as I believe you have experience with the military (?), whereas I am clueless:

Quoththeraven said:
The Kokomo Tribune, 17 Jul 1947, Thu ·Page 1, reports that Whitacre had a 24 hour leave to go into Albuquerque with a bowling team from the base on the night of July 1.
Click to expand...
It says the pass was for the night of July 1st. But Gene went missing on the evening of June 30th. Does this mean anything? Was he not supposed to be there that evening, or had he been working?

Quoththeraven said:
Albuquerque Journal 05 Jul 1947, Sat ·Page 1 "The Class A pass issued to Whitaker was found in mail delivered to the base. The pass was delivered uncovered, since the Sandia Base address was printed on the pass and bore no postage."

The Albuquerque Tribune 05 Jul 1947, Sat ·Pages 1- 4, "The return of the soldier's pass to Sandia Base by mail last Thursday."
Click to expand...
I was confused by this. What does it mean that it was found in the mail? Was it returned by someone else? and if so, why? Or is the pass issued elsewhere and posted to the base for Gene to collect? Is it significant that it was "delivered uncovered...with no posrage"?
I am sorry if this sounds dumb, but honestly I just have no idea!

Also, how common is it for soldiers to have second jobs? Especially ones who apparently have to be accounted for at all times?
 
Ciriii57 said:
It says the pass was for the night of July 1st. But Gene went missing on the evening of June 30th. Does this mean anything? Was he not supposed to be there that evening, or had he been working?
Click to expand...
It was the newspaper that stated he had a twenty-four hour pass for July 1. The Albuquerque Tribune 05 Jul 1947, Sat ·Page 1 states "Sgt. Whitacre has not been seen since he left Sandia Base on a pass last Monday night..." Farther up in the same article his name is spelled as Whitaker. (Sloppy reporting, I guess)

Monday night would be June 30. I'm guessing he left the base earlier than the start of the Tuesday, July 1 twenty-four hour pass (presumably after his first shift ended). Maybe the pass went into effect when he actually left the base, which would mean he had to be back on base sometime on July 1.

The Albuquerque Tribune 07 Jul 1947, Mon ·Page 1 "reports he left the base Monday afternoon (June 30) to go downtown"

The Whitacre thread on WS (this one), started by his relative (former member Astrokitty), states "Harvey Eugene Whitacre, disappeared from a bowling alley on the outskirts of Albuquerque, N. Mexico on the evening of June 30th, 1947. He did not return to Sandia Base New Mexico and was listed as AWOL on July 1st. The day after his disappearance, police found an army cap, a pair of thick lensed glasses, a necktie, and a blood stained shirt with two slashes in the back."

Namus states:
"Circumstances of Disappearance Harvey Eugene "Gene" Whitacre went into a bowling alley in Albuquerque, NM on the night of 06/30/1947. He was treasurer of his bowling league and was carrying about $400 in cash on him. He did not return to the Sandia Base as of roll-call the next day, 07/01/1947. His broken glasses, necktie, army cap, and shirt with slash marks were found in a side street near the bowling alley. He has never been found. The FBI and the Defense Department spent much time and effort questioning family members, wire tapping their phones, and intercepting mail in the hopes that Gene would contact one of them but that did not happen. He was possibly privy to some sensitive information due to his job in the army at the base. His rank was corporal."

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.
www.namus.gov

One would conclude from NAMUS that if the roll call was the next day, 07/01/1947, and he was on a 24 hour pass, then the pass must have started 06/30/1947. Reveille was usually 6:30 am.
 
Ciriii57 said:
I was confused by this. What does it mean that it was found in the mail? Was it returned by someone else? and if so, why? Or is the pass issued elsewhere and posted to the base for Gene to collect? Is it significant that it was "delivered uncovered...with no posrage"?
I am sorry if this sounds dumb, but honestly I just have no idea!

Also, how common is it for soldiers to have second jobs? Especially ones who apparently have to be accounted for at all times?
Click to expand...

Albuquerque Tribune 05 Jul 1947, Sat ·Page 1 & page 4 "Sgt. Whitacre has not been seen since he left Sandia Base on a pass last Monday night but two developments puzzled police...The developments were...The return of the soldier's pass to Sandia Base by mail last Thursday."

Albuquerque Journal 05 Jul 1947, Sat ·Page 1 "The Class A pass issued to Whitaker was found in mail delivered to the base. The pass was delivered uncovered, since the Sandia Base address was printed on the pass and bore no postage." "The Class A pass issued to Whitaker was found in mail delivered to the base. The pass was delivered uncovered, since the Sandia Base address was printed on the pass and bore no postage. An appeal was made for anyone who may have found the pass and mailed it in to notify base officials. Examination of the pass, enclosed in an isinglass (eisenglass) covering, failed to indicate where it was mailed from or by whom."
The pass was enclosed in clear vinyl sheeting would be an easier way to describe it. I would assume someone found it, thinking it was important, and put it in the mail. The news articles do not state (that I could find) when the pass was found in the base mail.

I don't know how common it was for military personnel to have second jobs.

In Whitacre's case, not only did he work at Sport Bowl, 3005 East Central Ave., Albuquerque but I found several news articles showing he was an accomplished bowler in tournaments at Sport Bowl earlier in June, 1947:

Albuquerque Journal 16 Jun 1947, Mon ·Page 5 "Vic Thiel beat Harvey Whitacre 998 to 959"
Albuquerque Journal 12 Jun 1947, Thu ·Page 4
The Albuquerque Tribune 09 Jun 1947, Mon ·Page 8
The Albuquerque Tribune 02 Jun 1947, Mon ·Page 8

We can pretty much assume that the Sport Bowl was the same bowling alley that he worked at and disappeared from on June 30, 1947. Of five bowling alleys named in Albuquerque newspapers over the years, only Sport Bowl was operating that night.
 
Quoththeraven said:
Albuquerque Tribune 05 Jul 1947, Sat ·Page 1 & page 4 "Sgt. Whitacre has not been seen since he left Sandia Base on a pass last Monday night but two developments puzzled police...The developments were...The return of the soldier's pass to Sandia Base by mail last Thursday."

Albuquerque Journal 05 Jul 1947, Sat ·Page 1 "The Class A pass issued to Whitaker was found in mail delivered to the base. The pass was delivered uncovered, since the Sandia Base address was printed on the pass and bore no postage." "The Class A pass issued to Whitaker was found in mail delivered to the base. The pass was delivered uncovered, since the Sandia Base address was printed on the pass and bore no postage. An appeal was made for anyone who may have found the pass and mailed it in to notify base officials. Examination of the pass, enclosed in an isinglass (eisenglass) covering, failed to indicate where it was mailed from or by whom."
The pass was enclosed in clear vinyl sheeting would be an easier way to describe it. I would assume someone found it, thinking it was important, and put it in the mail. The news articles do not state (that I could find) when the pass was found in the base mail.

I don't know how common it was for military personnel to have second jobs.

In Whitacre's case, not only did he work at Sport Bowl, 3005 East Central Ave., Albuquerque but I found several news articles showing he was an accomplished bowler in tournaments at Sport Bowl earlier in June, 1947:

Albuquerque Journal 16 Jun 1947, Mon ·Page 5 "Vic Thiel beat Harvey Whitacre 998 to 959"
Albuquerque Journal 12 Jun 1947, Thu ·Page 4
The Albuquerque Tribune 09 Jun 1947, Mon ·Page 8
The Albuquerque Tribune 02 Jun 1947, Mon ·Page 8

We can pretty much assume that the Sport Bowl was the same bowling alley that he worked at and disappeared from on June 30, 1947. Of five bowling alleys named in Albuquerque newspapers over the years, only Sport Bowl was operating that night.
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Thank you very much for the information.

Intriguing about the pass, I wish whoever mailed it had come forward so we'd know where it was found. It's another strange element but as you say, probably just someone trying to do the right thing.

So no one remembers him leaving the bowling alley at all. That means he didn't say goodbye to anyone I guess.

What do you make of the potentially staged clothing in the alley?
 
alb1on said:
George Koval, who served in the Special Engineer force (like Whitacre) was only exposed as an important spy (at Oak Ridge) in recent years. He was a soldier, not a physicist,
Click to expand...

Koval, although a private, is rather a special case. He trained as a chemical engineer in the USSR, then as an electrical engineer in the US.

I also don’t think Whitacre was killed/abducted for any secrets.

There are two reasons:

1) I was in the USAF in the ‘90s, and my MOS required a Top Secret/SCI clearance. This doesn’t mean you have access to everything classified as such; generally only what you have a need to know (for your specific job.)

But more importantly, 2) Klaus Fuchs had already given everything we knew about the atomic bomb to the Soviets in 1945:

“Klaus Fuchs, a German-born physicist who had helped the United States build its first atomic bombs, was arrested for passing nuclear secrets to the Soviets. While stationed at U.S. atomic development headquarters during World War II, Fuchs had given the Soviets precise information about the U.S. atomic program, including a blueprint of the “Fat Man” atomic bomb later dropped on Japan, and everything the Los Alamos scientists knew about the hypothesized hydrogen bomb.” (Ref)

So certainly, a low-level enlisted person (as Whitacre, and I was) can have access to TS information, but it isn’t generally worth killing them over, IMO.

The simplest explanation is that someone (lots of people, by the sound of it) knew he was carrying around a lot of cash, and the usual thing occurred.

Also, in re: his 24-hour pass. This generally just permission to be off base. Even in the 90s, it wasn’t automatic that you could just wander into town or whatever. We also had to let our supervisor know where we were and how we could be contacted; for example, when I was in Monterey, CA, spending a weekend in San Francisco entailed filling out a form with the dates, address and phone number where we could be located. When we returned, we’d often get a debrief from OSI about anyone we’d been in contact with, no matter how seemingly casually.

We didn’t get paper passes, but here’s what they looked like in 1947:




IMG_3670.jpeg
 
cenazoic said:
Also, in re: his 24-hour pass. This generally just permission to be off base. Even in the 90s, it wasn’t automatic that you could just wander into town or whatever. We also had to let our supervisor know where we were and how we could be contacted; for example, when I was in Monterey, CA, spending a weekend in San Francisco entailed filling out a form with the dates, address and phone number where we could be located. When we returned, we’d often get a debrief from OSI about anyone we’d been in contact with, no matter how seemingly casually.

We didn’t get paper passes, but here’s what they looked like in 1947:
Click to expand...
Thank you.
Hopefully you'll humour my lack of knowledge but am I right to assume that this would need to be kept on your person at all times while off the base?
Therefore if we knew where it had been found, we'd have an idea where Gene had been/gone? ....not that we're likely ever to know this information I suppose.
 
Ciriii57 said:
Thank you very much for the information.
Intriguing about the pass, I wish whoever mailed it had come forward so we'd know where it was found. It's another strange element but as you say, probably just someone trying to do the right thing.
So no one remembers him leaving the bowling alley at all. That means he didn't say goodbye to anyone I guess.
What do you make of the potentially staged clothing in the alley?
Click to expand...
If I made my map correctly, the alley behind 312 Gold Ave, which is between Gold Ave. and Silver Ave. is west of the Sport Bowl bowling alley at 3005 East Central Ave. The Sandia Base was south and east of the bowling alley. There were two security gates to the base; the Gibson Avenue Gate and the Wyoming Boulevard Gate.

If Whitacre left the bowling alley that night to head back to the base (no one saw him leave), he was going in the wrong direction if we are to believe he ended up in that alley. I, too, believe those items were staged in the alley. Or tossed. I'm guessing they were thrown out of a vehicle. It's a 44 minute, 2 mile walk from Gold Ave to the bowling alley, or eight minutes in a vehicle.

I wonder if the items in the alley were tested for DNA to see if anyone else's DNA was on them other than Whitacre's.


sandiabase.png

Sandia Base public domain photo from Wikipedia.
One of the security gates at the base.jpg
 
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Quoththeraven said:
If I made my map correctly, the alley behind 312 Gold Ave, which is between Gold Ave. and Silver Ave. is west of the Sport Bowl bowling alley at 3005 East Central Ave. The Sandia Base was south and east of the bowling alley. There were two security gates to the base; the Gibson Avenue Gate and the Wyoming Boulevard Gate.

If Whitacre left the bowling alley that night to head back to the base (no one saw him leave), he was going in the wrong direction fi we are to believe he ended up in that alley. I, too, believe those items were staged in the alley. Or tossed. I'm guessing they were thrown out of a vehicle. It's a 44 minute, 2 mile walk from Gold Ave to the bowling alley, or eight minutes in a vehicle.

I wonder if the items in the alley were tested for DNA to see if anyone else's DNA was on them other than Whitacre's.


View attachment 488020

Sandia Base public domain photo from Wikipedia.
View attachment 488023
Click to expand...
That's insane, because I wrongly assumed the alley was right behind the bowling alley! My mistake totally. I cannot begin to imagine what he was doing in this location. The idea that they were tossed from a car makes alot of sense. I wonder what happened to his trousers and shoes? It almost sounds like someone had removed his upper body clothing, tossed them, and then drove on with a half naked Gene?
 
Ciriii57 said:
am I right to assume that this would need to be kept on your person at all times while off the base?
Click to expand...

Back then, yes.

Ciriii57 said:
Therefore if we knew where it had been found, we'd have an idea where Gene had been/gone?
Click to expand...

I don’t think it was stated that it was ‘found’, was it? Just mailed back. Although it would be interesting to know where it was posted from. But to answer your question, I think not necessarily- if he was murdered, then, like his clothes, it may have been thrown out randomly and randomly found.

Speaking of the clothes being found 2 days later by a beat cop - that makes me wonder if they were newly placed there, rather than the night of the incident. (I’m thinking if they’d been there the whole time, the officer would have discovered them before 2 days later.)
 
cenazoic said:
Koval, although a private, is rather a special case. He trained as a chemical engineer in the USSR, then as an electrical engineer in the US.

I also don’t think Whitacre was killed/abducted for any secrets.

There are two reasons:

1) I was in the USAF in the ‘90s, and my MOS required a Top Secret/SCI clearance. This doesn’t mean you have access to everything classified as such; generally only what you have a need to know (for your specific job.)

But more importantly, 2) Klaus Fuchs had already given everything we knew about the atomic bomb to the Soviets in 1945:

“Klaus Fuchs, a German-born physicist who had helped the United States build its first atomic bombs, was arrested for passing nuclear secrets to the Soviets. While stationed at U.S. atomic development headquarters during World War II, Fuchs had given the Soviets precise information about the U.S. atomic program, including a blueprint of the “Fat Man” atomic bomb later dropped on Japan, and everything the Los Alamos scientists knew about the hypothesized hydrogen bomb.” (Ref)

So certainly, a low-level enlisted person (as Whitacre, and I was) can have access to TS information, but it isn’t generally worth killing them over, IMO.

The simplest explanation is that someone (lots of people, by the sound of it) knew he was carrying around a lot of cash, and the usual thing occurred.

Also, in re: his 24-hour pass. This generally just permission to be off base. Even in the 90s, it wasn’t automatic that you could just wander into town or whatever. We also had to let our supervisor know where we were and how we could be contacted; for example, when I was in Monterey, CA, spending a weekend in San Francisco entailed filling out a form with the dates, address and phone number where we could be located. When we returned, we’d often get a debrief from OSI about anyone we’d been in contact with, no matter how seemingly casually.

We didn’t get paper passes, but here’s what they looked like in 1947:
Click to expand...

And, on the other side of the coin...I was stationed at Ft Lost-In-The-Woods, Bragg and Ft. Gordon and even in Stuttgart, Germany. I never saw a pass my whole time in and never had to use one. My MOS was 95B and my clearance was only ENTNAC as shown on my DD-214. If they did any other security clearance on me during my 3 years in, I didn't know about it. I guess things in the Army were pretty laid back in the 70's. lol.
 
Quoththeraven said:
...I was stationed at Ft Lost-In-The-Woods, Bragg and Ft. Gordon and even in Stuttgart, Germany. I never saw a pass my whole time in and never had to use one. My MOS was 95B
Click to expand...

Ft Gordon! I went to high school in Augusta. :)

So, you were an MP? Maybe you know the answer to this in regards to the paper passes in the 40s - it seems like I once read that it was a regular thing for MPs to prowl through the local town rounding up sailors/soldiers and checking their passes, but I can’t find a link. Does that sound familiar? ( I realize the 70s are not the 40s, so maybe it was a thing of the past by then.)
 
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