Raymond Vernon Allen was born August 24, 1924 in Sherrill, NY to Vernon L. Allen (1896-1978) and Ruby Jenks (1897-1983). His parents were married on June 23, 1920 in Oneida, NY. He was their middle child with an older brother Lowell and a younger sister Phyllis. His dad worked for a "Silverware Manufacturer" (probably Oneida Ltd). The 1940 US Census recorded that his grandmother Jenks also lived with them on Kinsley Street in Sherrill, NY. He graduated from Sherrill High School (likely in 1942) and went to work for Oneida Ltd.

When he registered for the draft on December 11, 1942 in Sherrill, NY he was 6'-1" tall and weighed 162 pounds. He had brown eyes and brown hair. He was still working at Oneida Ltd. at the time. He was drafted into the service on March 27, 1943 through Utica, NY with service number 32854699. He does his training at Tyndall Field, Panama City, Florida where he completed the Bendix Turrets training and then Scott Field, Illinois, Alamogordo, New Mexico and finally Herington, Kansas. In April 1944 he and the entire crew he had been assigned to received orders to report overseas to RAF Rackheath in Norfolk, England. Rackheath, also known as USAAF Station 145 was home to the 467th Bomb Group.

Tech Sgt. Allen was a radio operator on B-24-J "Bold Venture" #44-10541. During his seven months of service with the 467th Tech/Sgt. Allen was cited for exceptionally meritorious achievement on at least three separate occasions earning himself the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters. On November 9, 1944 he was on his 28th mission when "Bold Venture" encountered a "severe storm over [the] North Sea". The Missing Air Crew Report documented the events:

"The aircraft ran into a line squall over the North Sea and severe icing and turbulence threw it into a spin at 15,000 feet. The pilot brought the aircraft under control at an altitude of 700 feet but the CO-pilot, engineer and radio operator having been warned by the pilot to be ready to bail out, had already bailed out without the knowledge of the Pilot...".

T/Sgt. Allen, along with two of his crew mates were initially reported "missing in action" and later, in May 1945, declared killed in action. His remains were never found. He is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Coton, South Cambridgeshire, England.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project. This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen on Together We Served and Fold3.

(Please see - http://www.storiesbehindthestars.org).

 Can you help us write these stories? Together We Served and Fold3/Find A Grave have smartphone apps that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery and read these stories of WWII fallen.

 If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute, please contact Jim Greenberg at jim.greenberg@oneonta.edu.

SBTSProject/New York/Oneida

Sources

Air Force Award Cards, Department of Defense, Department of the Air Force, Records of the National Archives and Records Admi28thnistration,

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56287338/raymond_vernon-allen: accessed August 27, 2025), memorial page for TSgt Raymond Vernon Allen (24 Aug 1924–9 Nov 1944), Find a Grave Memorial ID 56287338, citing Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Coton, South Cambridgeshire District, Cambridgeshire, England; Maintained by MAJ Jimmy Cotton (contributor 48803557).

Fold3, US, World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 (https://www.fold3.com/publication/831/us-wwii-army-enlistment-records-1938-1946 : accessed Aug 27, 2025), database and images, https://www.fold3.com/publication/831/us-wwii-army-enlistment-records-1938-1946

National Archives at St. Louis, St. Louis, MO. Morning Reports, 1940-1946, United States Army, War Department

National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For New York State, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147

"S/Sgt. Raymond Allen Is Awarded Air Medal", Daily Sentinel, Rome, NY, July 17, 1944, pg. 6.

"T-Sgt. R.V. Allen Reported Killed", Daily Sentinel, Rome, NY, May 14, 1945, pg. 6.

"T-Sgt. R.A.Allen, Gunner, Missing", Daily Sentinel, Rome, NY, November 30,1944, pg. 6.

Year: 1940; Census Place: Sherrill, Oneida, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02702; Page: 13A; Enumeration District: 33-90

Supporting Documents