Allen Garrido Family Wiki

Paul Allen (15 June 1925) was born in Olmitz, Kansas to Milton Allen and Rosa Speck.

He married Willehelmina Furrow in 1946 in Salina, Kansas. They have five children: Chester, David, Paulett, Roy, and Jennie.

Paul grew up in Albion Township, Barton County, Kansas.¹⁾ In 1940 he was living in nearby Great Bend Township with his parents and brother Milton.²⁾

He served in the US Navy during WWII, joining in 1943 at the latest.³⁾ He lived in San Diego, California for a brief time with his new wife until he was discharged from the Navy.

By 1947⁴⁾ he was living in Amarillo, Texas where he raised his children with his wife. They stayed there until at least 1954 when their son Roy was born.⁵⁾ Around 1962 he moved to Wellington, Kansas but not long after he moved again to Chicago, Illinois. After four years in Chicago he moved to Bonner Springs, Kansas.

The only mention of Paul's education is a census record indicating that at 14 he was not employed due to being a student, and that his highest level of education was the 6^th grade.⁶⁾

Paul served the US Navy aboard the Auk-class minesweeper USS Spear as a fireman first class (F1).⁷⁾ In this position he would have served as something of a mechanic⁸⁾ as part of the Engine Room Force of the ship and earned $66 per month⁹⁾ (worth almost $960 in 2019).

The Spear sailed to Hawaii in early 1944 where the crew trained and escorted troop convoys throughout the Pacific. In July, Paul participated in the assault on Guam where the Spear came under fire.

In December, the Spear participated in the assault on Okinawa conducting antisubmarine searches and sweeping mines. Paul spent 82 straight days serving in the Okinawa campaign, during which the Spear logged over 200 attacks by Japanese airplanes.

Following the Japanese surrender in 1945, the USS Spear cleared mines in the East China Sea clearing the way to the Yangtze River. The Spear was stationed in Shanghai, briefly joining the Yangtze River Patrol Force, returning for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in late November 1945¹⁰⁾.

After the war, Paul was employed by the Santa Fe Rail Road as a Train Yard Foreman. He retired in 1986.