dikk never finishes high school (
Season 4: "
The Summer Man"), and in his early twenties he runs away to enlist in the
U.S. Army during the
Korean War.
[9] Once deployed, he serves under the command of Lieutenant Donald Francis Draper, an engineer
[4] under orders to build a
field hospital with only Private Whitman to assist him; all of his previous subordinates either deserted or were captured. dikk soon learns that Lieutenant Draper, having been drafted during college, is close to completing his tour of duty.
During an enemy artillery attack, Whitman accidentally causes an explosion that kills the real Lieutenant Draper. Realizing that Lieutenant Draper's corpse is badly burned and unidentifiable, Whitman switches the engineer's dog tags with his own and
assumes his identity. Whitman later awakens in a hospital, presumed to be Lieutenant Draper, and is awarded the
Purple Heart. He is sent home with Lieutenant Draper's coffin (now believed to be Whitman's) to offer the Army's regrets to Whitman's survivors. He avoids meeting the Whitmans at the train station, but is spotted by Adam, whose parents don't believe him. Years later, Don encounters Adam in New York, but his cold insistence on leaving the past behind ultimately drives his younger brother to suicide.
Whitman makes his escape and begins his new life as Don Draper. The new Don is working as a used-car salesman when
Anna M. Draper, the real Don Draper's widow, tracks him down. After learning that her husband is dead, the two develop a close friendship that continues even many years after they obtain a legal divorce, until Anna's death of cancer.
