[Polybius]

To: Polybius; Howlin

Ahem.... speaking of forgeries...

Not making any accusations or anything but all this chatter about fonts and forgeries made me curious and I took a peek at Kerry's DD214.

Well, for that question, we need to call in the Freeper who started it all...........Buckhead! :-)

Two of the blog's readers directed their attention to a note left on an Internet bulletin board on the freerepublic.com Web site, the 47th posting on the topic there. Post No. 47 pointed out that there was something off about these documents from the 1970s: The spacing between the letters and the words was proportional, and only a few IBM electric typewriters could achieve that effect back then.

[musicman]

BTTT !!

[gospelmidi]

There is a simple explanation for the different fonts and spacings. The stock form DD 214 does not even specify the branch of service. Much of the form can be printed in advance and in bulk, to avoid unnecessary typing.

The light text, with proportional spacing and a different typeface, is boilerplate text which applies to all OCS graduates being discharged to become Ensigns. It was PROFESSIONALLY PRINTED with typesetting equipment at a print shop. Note the absence of any typos in the light text.

The dark text, with monospacing and a typewriter typeface (Pica?) is specific to the individual. It would probably have been typed by an SK2 or SK3, then signed by an officer.