World War II Honoree

Clarence E. Allen

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Los Angeles, California

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Second Lieutenant. On July 7, 1942, he was inducted into the United States Army Air Corps at San Francisco, California. After completing Boot Camp, he was selected to attend the Flight Aviation Training Program. Served as a P-47D ‘Thunderbolt’ Fighter Pilot in the European Theater of Operations, assigned to the 395th Fighter Squadron, 368th Fighter Group; U.S. Ninth Army Air Forces. His unit was based at the Juvincourt Airfield, located near the village of Juvincourt-et-Damary in Northern France. Reported missing in action Thursday, October 12, 1944 as his fighter was the lead element in a Dive-bombing mission near Aachen, Germany. During this flight operation, his squadron was attacked by German Fighters in the area of Dusseldorf. After the combat engagement, all fighters returned to base, except one. His name is permanently inscribed in the tablets of the missing, memorialized at the American Cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands. Later his missing in action status was amended to read killed in action. After the cessation of hostilities in Europe, the American Graves Registration Command conducted recovery operations and his remains were not recovered. In March of 1948, personnel from the American Graves Registration disinterred some remains from a German Cemetery near Myhl, Germany and were unidentifiable. The remains were interred as an unknown in the Ardennes American Cemetery in Neupre, Belgium. A team from the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency in the year of 2005 disinterred the unknown from the Ardennes Cemetery. The remains were transferred to the Joint Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, were he was identified. This Airman was laid to rest with Military Honors, May 23, 2018 at the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. He received the following awards posthumously: Air Medal with twelve oak leaf clusters and the Purple Heart. The Air medal awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. This American Patriot was awarded the Purple Heart, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.