The headlines on the front page of the Greenville (TX) Morning Herald for Tuesday, May 8, 1945, read “REICH SURRENDERS: British Declare Today Official V-E Day.” Ironically, at the top of page 1:6 the headline screamed “Lt. Truman Allen Reported Missing.”
Lt. Truman Allen, 21, son of Mr. and Mrs. D. T. Allen, Route 1, Greenville, has been reported missing in action over Italy since April 26, it was announced Monday in a message to his parents from the War Department.
A P-47 pilot with the 12th Air Force in Italy, Lt. Allen had been overseas since 1st October and in a recent letter to his mother he wrote that he had completed sixty-eight missions. He holds the Air Medal awards.
Lt. Allen graduated from Greenville High School in 1941 and attended ETSTC, Commerce and Texas Tech, Lubbock. He entered the service January 27, 1943, and received his wings at Moore Field, Texas and tactical training at Pocatello, Idaho.
His brother Pvt. Jack Allen is stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. His grandparents are Mrs. M. W. Allen and Mr. and Mrs. Lee Key, of this city.
What a tragic way to mark the end of World War II in Europe. For more than 67 years, the family knew little of the fate of Lt. Allen. His Missing in Action status was later changed to Killed in Action, but very little details were available.
At some point in time, the War Department released classified documents relating to all military deaths in combat during World War II. Various organizations such as the 65th Fighter Squadron website at www.65thfightergroup.org have made these records available to the public.
The most poignant part of Lt. Allen’s records found on the 65th Fighter Group website is the Witness’s Statement, written 28 April 1945 by 1st Lt. Bradley A. Muhl, Air Corps., and probably Allen’s wingman. Lt. Muhl stated that
“on 26 April 1945 at 1400 hours, I saw Lt. ALLEN make a straffing pass on the east coast of Lake Garda (F-3770). As he pulled off to the left, over the lake, his fuselage burst into flame just aft of the cockpit. Just as I called to tell him he was hit, I saw his canopy jettisoned. His plane went into a steep left spiral and dived straight into the lake. His top altitude was approximately 700 feet. I did not see his parachute open, and as I circled the spot I saw no movement indicating survival.”
Bradley A. Muhl
1st Lt., Air Corps.
Truman Lee Allen was born on November 20, 1923, in Hunt County to Daniel Truman and Fannie Cornelia Key Allen, according to the Index to Probate Birth Records, Vol. 1, page 273, found on microfilm at the W. Walworth Harrison Public Library. By the time he was six years old the family was living at 4011 Henderson Street in Greenville. The father Daniel Allen was a house painter at the time. However, the family seemed to have prospered more than most families during the Great Depression. In 1940 the family owned their own home and Mr. Allen owned a home construction business. T. L. was in high school and his younger brother Jack was in eighth grade.
Lt. Truman L. Allen loved everything about flying and airplanes. In high school he was a member of the Aeronautic Club in 1940, a group of young men eager to fly. He received his wings at flight school at Moore Field near McAllen, Texas. From there he was sent to Pocatello, Idaho for tactical training before assignment to the 65th Fighter Squadron stationed at Grosseto Main in Italy when he arrived on October 1, 1944. He named his plane “Balls Out II.”
The 65th was assigned to the XXII TAC (Tactical Air Command) that was to support the 5th Army. Actually, the 65th and other fighter groups in the area were to clear out German artillery and anti-aircraft guns, step-up attacks on enemy motor transports, and keep the Brenner Line unserviceable in the event that American group troops were ordered to invade Germany through Brenner Pass. German aircraft were not seen in the area after October 1944 when Lt. Allen arrived in Italy. Yet, the region was strategically important and the men of the 65th worked to destroy the last vestiges of German control.
In another strange fate of war, Lt. Truman Lee Allen was the last pilot assigned to the 65th Fighter Group to be killed in action. The next day, April 27, 1945 the squadron began to pull out of the northern Italy region and was reassigned to Villa Franca, still in Italy.
When Lt. Allen’s plane was hit, he was the only person on board. His was an armed reconnaissance mission fully armed. Based on 1st Lt. Muhl’s eyewitness account no search was conducted. Lake Garda is an extremely deep lake, located in the mountains of northern Italy. Until the fall of 2012 when a group of Italian searchers found evidence of Allen’s plane, the fate of Truman Lee Allen was unknown.
On November 30, 1942, just ten days after his nineteenth birthday Truman L. Allen or T. L. as he was known in Greenville went to Dallas to enlist in the U. S. Army. His enlistment papers noted that he was born in Texas in 1923, had attended college for one year, and was single with no dependents. He was activated on January 15, 1943 and assigned to the Air Corps. He remained a private until completing flight school when he was promoted to Second Lieutenant. At the time of his death, Lt. Allen had received the Purple Heart Medal, Air Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, and additional Army awards. His name is listed on the Missing in Action tablets at the American Cemetery in Florence, Italy.
Can you image the sadness the family had when they read the paper? His nephew, whom I know, said the mother never mentioned T.L. again. The family received a letter from the Italian group of researchers in 2012. That was the first time the family knew the final fate of Truman Lee Allen.