General Levan Allen
Details of the Artifact
Four pocket service coat, with orginal stars and SSI (ribbon bar added) Aquired from the family a Theater made 12th Army Group Flag and Allen's stars and auto flag.
A Bit Of History About Levan Allen
It is hard to over-estimate the value a good chief of staff. Throughout the war General Levan Allen served as Chief of Staff for Omar Bradley’s 12th Army Group. The value of General Allen can be seen in his ability to perform many various duties simultaneously. In General George Patton’s Diary, he states that “Bradley stayed focused on the D-Day landing while Levan Allen focused on the affairs of the First and Third Armies. Reading on in the Patton Papers you see that on many occasions Levan Allen was tasked with giving Bradley’s orders to Patton which in many cases were not received well. You can also read that on many occasions Patton would run his ideas by Allen knowing that if he could win him over to his plan or idea than it would resonate better with Bradley. Patton knew the respect that Bradley gave Allen
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Omar Bradley’s book, A Soldier’s Story, also shows the confidence he placed in Allen. Bradley tasked him with overseeing everything from organizing the 12th Army Group’s command post, to keeping him updated on current situations happening in the 12th Army Groups sector. In many cases Bradley would come into the operations room to find Allen pouring over the maps. One such instance was during the Battle of the Bulge when Bradley came in to find Allen looking over the situation maps, Bradley exclaimed “Pardon my French, Lev, but just where in hell has this sonuvabitch gotten all his strength!”
The success of the 12th Army Group in Europe has been well documented. It is easy to read about Omar Bradley, George Patton, and others. However, the success of these great men, by some measure, can be credited to the great leaders they surrounded themselves with. Omar Bradley, while a great leader, chose to have as his Chief of Staff General Levan Allen.
Admiral Richard Byrd
About The Artifact
Tan service coat with all Byrd orginal insignia .
A Bit of History About Admiral Richard Byrd
Admiral Byrd best known for his 1928 expedtion to the Antarctic but as a senior officer in the United States Navy, was recalled to active duty on March 26, 1942, and served as the confidential advisor to Admiral King. From 1942 to 1945 he served on the South Pacific Island Base Inspection Board, which toured bases in the South Pacific in May and June 1942. The report submitted by the Board describes conditions found at each base and analyses, lessons learned in planning and equipping these bases. The report contains recommendations applicable to the individual bases and others designed to be helpful in the planning of future advanced bases. .