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Youth. Private First Class (PFC) James “Jamie” Bennet Allen, US Army was born 16 Jan 1926 near Winnfield, Winn Parish, Louisiana. Jamie, as he was known to family and friends, was the eighth child of Martha Ann (Wright) Allen and Mathew Max “M.M.” Allen. Jamie had 4 older brothers and 3 older sisters, and the family grew to include a younger sister and brother, ten children in all. The family owned their home and farm in Winn Parish. In 1933, the mother, Martha died, leaving the older siblings to help out with Jamie and his younger siblings. Jamie went through school in Winn Parish and graduated from Winnfield High School in 1943. On his 1944 Draft Registration he listed himself as unemployed, but he was likely working around the family farm.

Military. On 26 May 1944 Jamie was inducted into the Army. After Basic Training he joins the 222 Infantry Regiment, 42 Infantry Division (the Rainbow Division of WWI fame) training at Camp Gruber, OK. In late 1944 the 222 IR, 42 ID ships to Europe, arriving in Marseille, France on 8 Dec 1944. With the Battle of the Bulge breaking out further north, the green as grass 42nd ID is rushed into the line Alsace Region of Northeast France. On 31 Dec 1944, the Germans launch Operation Nordwind, sometimes called the second Battle of the Bulge, along the Alsace Front. The 42nd ID bends but does not break, helping to stop Operation Nordwind. By mid-Feb 1945 the front had stabilized after hard fighting in the Voges Mountains, but both sides continue to patrol and test for weak3nesses.

Death and Burial. On 22 Feb 45 on patrol near La Petite-Pierre in the far northeast of France, PFC James Allen was Killed in Action. PFC Allen was buried in a Military Cemetery in France and in 1948, at the request of his family, is buried next to his Mother in the family plot at the Union Church Cemetery (now called The Old Union Cemetery), Joyce, Winn Parish. PFC James B Allen was awarded the Purple Heart Medal, posthumously.

According to the records available, PFC James B Allen would be entitled to wear the following commendations:

★World War II Victory Medal, ★ Purple Heart Medal,

★Combat Infantryman Badge, ★ Marksmanship Badge,

★American Campaign Medal, ★Army Good Conduct Medal,

★European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal,

(This list has not been verified as complete.)

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Stories Behind the Stars Contributing Author – TOM GORHAM

SBTS Project/Louisiana/Winn Parish

Resources:

Ancestry.com/James Bennet Allen
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19186899/jamie-bennet-allen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/222nd_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States)
https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/data/806452140
https://www.historynet.com/operation-nordwind-us-armys-42nd-infantry-division-stood-its-ground-during-world-war-ii
https://www.armydivs.com/42nd-infantry-division
1920, 1930 1940 Census

This story was written by Tom Gorham, Lt Col USAF-Ret, son, son-in-law, and nephew of Greatest Generation Vets.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there is now a smart phone app (Find a Grave) that allows people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story. If you have suggestions to improve this story, please contact me through Fold3 at the link (Tomg66) below.

PFC James "Jamie" Bennet Allen, US Army