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| Harold Allison was serving on the USS Terror when it was hit by a kamikaze. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34874299/harold-harry-allison http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/CM/CM05-p.html |
Harold Harry Allison never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on December 28, 1918 in Maryland. His parents Jacob and Rose were both born in Pennsylvania. His father worked as a lumber truck driver and later as a chauffeur. Harold had two older brothers, one older sister, two younger brothers and two younger sisters. By 1940 Harold had married Lona Arvelia and was working for a chemistry firm. They would have two children.
He enlisted in the US Navy on May 25, 1944. He became a coxswain on the minelayer USS Terror. He probably joined his ship in San Francisco in the fall of 1944. Terror provided casualty evacuation support during the invasion of Iwo Jima in February 1945 and transferred battle casualties to the army hospital in Saipan. Next she was on hand for the invasion of Okinawa. She came under kamikaze assault on multiple occasions during April without incident.
On May 1, 1945, shortly before 4:00, a kamikaze surprised Terror and crashed through the communication platform. It took two hours to put out the fires. The attack claimed 41 killed (including Coxswain Allison), 7 missing, and 123 wounded, that is more than one-third of the crew.
His brother Herbert was wounded fighting in the Pacific but returned home safely.
His grave is at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Cumberland, Maryland. I don't know what happened to his widow or his two children.
Last year on this date I profiled Perry McElreath, 4th Marine Division who fought in the Battle of Saipan. You can read about Perry here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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