Robert Allen was a technical sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Force from California. TSgt Allen served with the 860th Bomber Squadron, 493rd Bomber Group during World War II. On August 18, 1944, TSgt Allen and his crew were shot down during a raid of a German airfield in Roye-Amy. Their B-24 bomber, called "Bolicat," crashed in a field in Boussicourt, France. All but one of the crew members died, including Allen. TSgt Allen received the Purple Heart and Air Medal for his sacrifice.

MIA Found:
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today [March 25, 2024] that U.S. Army Air Forces Technical Sergeant Robert Allen, 20, of Oakland, California, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 19, 2023. He resided in Alameda County, California prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army on January 11, 1943 in San Francisco, California. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a welder and also as Single, without dependents. Service # 39036804 Robert served as a Tech. Sgt. & Radio Operator on B-24H, 860th Bombardment Squadron, 493rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. In August of 1944, Allen was assigned to the 860th Bomb Sq, 493rd Bomb Gp in the European Theater of Operations. On Aug 18, Allen was a crewmember onboard a B-24H Liberator (tail #41-29473, nicknamed "Bolicat") when it was struck by anti-aircraft fire after a bombing raid on a German position near Roye, France. Only one airman survived, while the other eight crew members, including Allen, were killed. German records indicate the bomber crashed roughly two kilometers west of Boussicourt, where the remains of several individuals were recovered and buried in a village cemetery near Pierrepont-sur-Avre, France. Robert was declared "Missing In Action" when his B-24, while over their target at the German airfield at Roye-Amy, France, was hit by enemy flak causing the B-24 to catch fire and crash during the war. He was awarded the Purple Heart and the Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters. Beginning in 1945, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), Army Quartermaster Corps, was the organization tasked with recovering missing American personnel in the European Theater. Following the war, the AGRC disinterred and identified six sets of remains recovered from the cemetery at Pierrepont-sur-Avre. At the time they were unable to account for Allen and one other crewmember. In 2018, a DPAA recovery team excavated a site near Boussicourt which they believe correlated with Allen's crash site. While there, they were able to recover possible remains along with other materials believed to be associated with the B-24H. This new evidence, along with previously unidentified remains, were sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis and identification. To identify TSgt Allen's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis. Allen's name is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at Ardennes American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Neupré, Belgium, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for. TSgt Allen will be buried in San Diego, California, on July 12, 2024. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Airmen who perished on B-24H #41-29473: Allen, Robert ~ T/Sgt, Radio Operator, California ~ " MIA " Doyle, John G ~ S/Sgt, Nose Gunner, Michigan ~ " KIA " Gourlay, Raymond L ~ T/Sgt, Top Turret Gunner, Michigan ~ " KIA " Guthrie, Raymond R ~ S/Sgt, Tail Gunner, Illinois ~ " KIA " Guyer, Glenn A ~ 2nd Lt, Bombardier, New York ~ " KIA " Kehoe, John C ~ 2nd Lt, Co-Pilot, Virginia ~ " KIA " Shostak, Felix J ~ S/Sgt, Waist Gunner, Vermont ~ " MIA " Washington, George H ~ 1st Lt, Pilot, Oklahoma ~ " KIA " 2nd Lt. Norman C. Grant, who was the Navigator, was the only survivor of this flight. He became a " POW " of the German Army.
Source DPAA and Find a Grave