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Sergeant Carroll Hawthorne Allen

An African American man in a Marine uniform looks at the camera.
  • Unit: 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division
  • Date of Birth: February 13, 1931
  • Entered the Military: January 15, 1952
  • Date of Death: March 10, 2011
  • Hometown: Stafford County, Virginia
  • Place of Death: Fredericksburg, Virginia
  • Award(s): Korean Service Medal with 2 Stars, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, Korean Presidential Unit Citation
  • Cemetery: section 28, site 60. National Memorial Cemetery at Quantico, Triangle, Virginia
Contributed by Sheri Donald, Dominic Nelson, and Alexa Yingling
Mentored by Mr. Leif Liberg
Saint Mary’s Ryken High School
2024/2025

Early Life

Carroll Hawthorne Allen was born on February 13, 1931 in Stafford County, Virginia. His father, Thomas Allen, worked at a saw mill. His mother, Mattie, was a homemaker. Allen grew up in a multigenerational household that included 15 brothers, sisters, a niece, and several cousins. 

Education and Work

Like many African American children in the area at the time, Allen’s formal education was limited. He attended school for eight years. He later worked for Cleves Food Service in Quantico, Virginia. There, Allen prepared food, served customers, and cleaned dishes.

Members of the Allen household, as recorded in the 1940 Census. National Archives and Records Administration.
Map of Stafford County, Virginia. Note the locations of Hartwood and Roseville—two of several towns where Allen lived within the county. Stafford County Historical Society.

Homefront

The Stafford County that Allen grew up in was a quiet area in northern Virginia. Agriculture was the leading economic activity.

In 1927, the construction of U.S. Route 1 through the area increased tourism. This created opportunities for new restaurants, lodging, and other tourist-related businesses. 

The Great Depression hit the area hard. New Deal programs, which included a Home Industries Market, Works Progress Administration Ladies Sewing Groups, and a Civilian Conservation Corps camp provided relief. However, poverty remained a major issue for the area’s residents.

Popular entertainment at the time included family parties, church functions, baseball, and other community events. For movies, residents of the area traveled to Fredericksburg. For many county residents this trip required a full day of travel due to the lack of vehicles and paved roads. 

Change Comes to the County

Life in Stafford County did not change much until the construction of I-95 in the 1960s. The interstate created housing options for people who worked in Washington, D.C., but did not want to live in the city. In time, this significantly changed the demographics of the county.

The roads in Stafford County could be challenging. Here, a group of men use a team of horses to free a car stuck in the mud at Chichester Flats on Route 1 north of Fredericksburg, Virginia, c.1920. Stafford County Historical Society.
An unidentified African American resident of Stafford County, Virginia stands near a chicken coop during the Great Depression. c.1930s. Note his lack of shoes. Stafford County Historical Society.
A postcard featuring Brown’s Auto Court, one of several hospitality businesses established in Stafford County along U.S. Route 1. Stafford County Historical Society.

Military Experience

Allen was inducted into the U.S. military on January 15, 1952. He expressed interest in serving with the U.S. Air Force or U.S. Army. Instead, he was assigned to the U.S. Marine Corps.

Allen received eight weeks of basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina. He became an infantryman, and received follow-up training as an anti tank assaultman at Camp Pendleton, California. Following training, Allen shipped out for Korea.

Allen departed aboard the USNS General John Pope on July 21, 1952. He had a brief port call in Yokohama, Japan in early August. He then landed at Inchon on August 10.

Korea

Allen was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. At that time, the battalion was positioned on the Western Korean Front. The early war of maneuver had long since ceased. In fighting reminiscent of World War I, both sides created trenches and defensive positions along the Main Line of Resistance (MLR). 

Allen and his fellow Marines rotated between manning positions on the MLR, acting as a reserve force, and training in rear areas. Even in reserve the Marines had to be ready to fight. At times, they were charged with countering breakthroughs along almost a third of the MLR.

Days were spent improving defensive positions, patrolling, and trying to keep the Marines healthy in the ever-changing climate. The battalion regularly engaged with the enemy. Fighting occurred at combat outposts, as well as along the MLR. This resulted in casualties on both sides. 

Shortly before the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, Allen rotated home. He departed Korea on July 24, 1953. He had served along the frontlines for just under a year.

Continued Service Stateside

Upon his return to the U.S., Allen was stationed at the Marine Barracks, Naval Proving Ground Dahlgren, Virginia. He served as a guard at the facility. Allen reenlisted in the Marine Corps and continued serving in this role. He earned promotion to corporal, and later sergeant.

Allen was discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps on November 20, 1956. He earned the Korean Service Medal with 2 stars, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, and the Korean Presidential Unit Citation.

Allen in his U.S.M.C. Service Bravo uniform. Official Military Personnel File, National Archives and Records Administration.
Marines manning a position along the frontlines. National Archives and Records Administration (127-N-A161138).
Allen’s certificate of promotion to sergeant, May 1, 1955. Official Military Personnel File, National Archives and Records Administration.

Veteran Experience

Following his discharge, Allen returned to Stafford County. He married his wife, Marian, and the two raised four children. He worked as a janitor for a time. Later, Allen became a union carpenter.

Commemoration

Sergeant Allen was laid to rest beside fellow servicemembers at the National Memorial Cemetery at Quantico, in Triangle, Virginia.

He led a quiet life until he passed away in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on March 10, 2011.

A photograph of Allen later in life. Bennett-Brooks Funeral Home.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

1st Marine Regiment, 1st Battalion, Command Diary April 1953; Records of the United States Marine Corps, Record Group 127; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.

Brown’s Auto Court. Photograph. Stafford County Historical Society: Discover Stafford. Accessed February 11. 2025. https://discoverstafford.org/artifact/the-post-war-united-states/motels-and-restaurants/#gallery-3. 

“Carroll Hawthrone Allen.” Bennett-Brooks Funeral Home. Accessed September 17, 2024. https://www.bennettbrooksfuneralhome.com/obituaries/carroll-hawthrone-allen.   

Carroll Hawthorne Allen, Official Military Personnel File, Department of the Navy, National Archives and Records Administration – St. Louis.

“Census and Population Records of Stafford County.” Discover Stafford. Last Modified 2023. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://discoverstafford.org/artifact/modern-stafford/census-and-population-records-of-stafford-county/.    

Group using a team of horses to free a car stuck in the mud at Chichester Flats on Route 1 north of Fredericksburg, circa 1920. Photograph. Stafford County Historical Society: Discover Stafford. accessed February 11, 2025. https://discoverstafford.org/artifact/great-depression-world-war-ii/roads-2/#gallery. 

Marines hug the trench as a Communist mortar lands nearby . . . Photograph. National Archives and Records Administration (127-N-A161138). In U.S. Marines in the Korean War. Historical Division, United States Marine Corps, 2007. 

Stafford County, VA. Map. Stafford County Historical Society: Discover Stafford. Accessed November 11, 2024.  https://discoverstafford.org/artifact/modern-stafford/census-and-population-records-of-stafford-county/#gallery. 

Unlabeled photos of Stafford residents during the Depression. Photograph. Stafford County Historical Society: Discover Stafford. Accessed February 11, 2025. https://discoverstafford.org/artifact/great-depression-world-war-ii/depression-era-photos/. 

Virginia. Stafford County. 1940 U.S. Census. Digital images. ancestryclasroom.com.

Secondary Sources 

“Carroll Hawthorne Allen.” Find a Grave. Updated March 22, 2011. Accessed February 15, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/67277629/carroll-hawthorne-allen. 

“Carroll Hawthorne Allen.” Veterans Legacy Memorial, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Accessed February 15, 2025. www.vlm.cem.va.gov/CARROLLHAWTHORNEALLEN/B897414.

“Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).” Discover Stafford. Last Modified 2023. Accessed October 22, 2024. https://discoverstafford.org/artifact/great-depression-world-war-ii/ccc-camp/.  

David, Kimble A. Historic Context for Domestic and Agricultural Buildings in Stafford County, Virginia. Cultural Resources, Inc., June 2004, https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/ST-091_Historic_Context_Domestic-Agricultural_Bldgs_Stafford_2004_CRI_report.pdf.

“Home Industries Markets.” Discover Stafford. Last Modified 2023. Accessed October 23, 2024. https://discoverstafford.org/artifact/great-depression-world-war-ii/stafford-homefront-2/home-industries-markets/.  

MacGregor, Jerrilynn. “Re: Stafford County Historical Society Query.” Received by Leif Liberg, November 8, 2024.

“Motels and Restaurants.” Discover Stafford. Last Modified 2023. Accessed October 22, 2024. https://discoverstafford.org/artifact/the-post-war-united-states/motels-and-restaurants/.  

“Refrigerator.” Discover Stafford. Last Modified 2023. Accessed October 24, 2024. https://discoverstafford.org/artifact/great-depression-world-war-ii/stafford-homefront-2/refrigerator/.  

Smith, Charles H., ed. U.S. Marines in the Korean War. Historical Division, United States Marine Corps, 2007. 

“Stafford High School.” Discover Stafford. Last Modified 2023. Accessed October 22, 2024. https://discoverstafford.org/artifact/the-post-war-united-states/stafford-high-school/.  

Wheeler, Jason. “Re: Research Assistance Request.” Received by Leif Liberg, December 11, 2024.

“World War II.” Discover Stafford. Last Modified 2023. Accessed October 22, 2024. https://discoverstafford.org/artifact/great-depression-world-war-ii/world-war-ii-blackouts/.  

“WPA Ladies Sewing Group.” Discover Stafford. Last Modified 2023. Accessed October 23, 2024. https://discoverstafford.org/artifact/great-depression-world-war-ii/stafford-homefront-2/wpa-ladies-sewing-group/. 

This profile was funded by a grant from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The opinions, findings, and conclusions stated herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.