The unit patch seen on the left sleeve (current unit and combat unit patches are now worn on the right sleeve) of most of the active-duty soldiers in this story is that of the United States 6th Army. This works with the story-line. The 6th and 8th Armies were both involved in taking Manila back from the Japanese in1944/45 and the 6th was also involved in the occupation of Manila to enforce the law and protect civilians immediately after the war. That also fits the story-line. The unit was temporarily disbanded in the mid-'90s but was reactivated and is currently (2017) based at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX, as part of the Southern Command.
This is the first time in the series that the killer attempts to make the murder look like a suicide.
Raymond Burr and John Dehner previously costarred as a defense attorney and prosecuting attorney in the film Please Murder Me! (1956).