Leon Carmackel Allen was born on December 7, 1917 in Alabama. He was the son of Wilton Shelby Allen and Edna Frost Allen. He attended Minden grammar and high school and was a star player on the high school football team. After graduation he received a football scholarship to Centenary college, where he was a member of the varsity grid team.

Lieutenant Allen took his flight training first at Randolph Field and later at Kelley Field, Texas, where he received his wings and a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps. He was Killed in Action on July 21, 1942 at the age of 24 in an airplane accident in the Far Eastern theater and is now buried in the Minden City Cemetery, Minden, Webster Parish, Louisiana, USA.

2Lt Allen was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com