James Ralph Allen was born 20 Sept 1922 at Belva, Logan County, Arkansas, to Carl Vivian & Annie E Musgrove Allen. Before 1930 the family was living in Prairie Twsp, close to Huntington, in Sebastian Co., Ar. James registered for the military draft June 30, 1942 in Sebastian Co., Ar. He joined the Marine Corps and was assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. On 15 September, 1944, U.S. Marines of the First Marine Division and later soldiers of the U.S. Army's 81st Infantry Division, fought to capture an airstrip on Peleliu, a small island in the Palaus chain. This battle, called Operation Stalemate II, was part of a larger offensive campaign known as Operation Forager which ran from June 1944 to November 1944 in the Pacific Theater of Operations. What was supposed to take only four days took three months. American casualties were high. Many were wounded or missing from the Army's 81st Infantry Division, and 1,252 killed, 5,274 wounded or missing from the 1st Marine Division. One of those killed was Pvt. James Ralph Allen who died on the third day of combat, 18 Sep 1944. His body was recovered from the battlefield and taken aboard ship. He was later buried at sea with full military honors. Pvt. Allen has a marker in French Prairie Cemetery Ione, Logan County, Ar. next to where his parents were buried. shared by Vicki Graves Jones from Fighing Men of Arkansas ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From a Family Tree on Ancestry by Linda Betti Like a million other young men, James enlisted in the military to serve his country against the Axis powers of World War II. He chose the United states Marine Corps to fight against the Empire of Japan who had attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 7 December, 1941 - "A day that will live in infamy". After completing his boot camp and infantry training, James was assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. On 15 September, 1944, U.S. Marines of the First Marine Division and later soldiers of the U.S. Army's 81st Infantry Division, fought to capture an airstrip on Peleliu, a small island in the Palaus chain. This battle, called Operation Stalemate II, was part of a larger offensive campaign known as Operation Forager which ran from June 1944 to November 1944 in the Pacific Theater of Operations. The strategic importance of this airstrip and the necessity to capture it has been questioned since the day the battle began. Regardless of it's importance now, the assault landing and battle was toughly fought and what was supposed to take only four days took three months. The Japanese lost over 10,000 men who were killed and another 200 that were captured. American casualties totaled approximately 542 killed, 2,736 wounded or missing from the Army's 81st Infantry Division, and 1,252 killed, 5,274 wounded or missing from the 1st Marine Division. One of those killed was James Ralph Allen who died on the third day of combat. His body was recovered from the battlefield and taken aboard ship. He was later buried at sea with full military honors. At the time of his death, James' parents were living at Route 1, Huntington, Logan County, Arkansas. A government memorial marker (cenotaph) was erected by the family next to where James' parents are buried in the French Prairie Cemetery, Ione, Logan County, Arkansas. Private James Ralph Allen, Sn# 414596, earned the following decorations for his service during World War II and the United Sates Marine Corps (not in order of precedence): - Combat Action Ribbon - Purple Heart Medal - Navy/Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon - Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations Campaign Medal with bronze battle/campaign star(s) - World War II Victory Medal - Marine Corps Marksmanship Badge - Marine Corps Qualification Badge with Bar(s) For further reading on the Battle of Peleliu, this above writer recommends "With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa", written by Eugene Sledge who served with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, a sister battalion to James' and who fought in virtually the same battles. Peleliu is an island in the Palau archipelago in Micronesia. It was the site of a World War II battle between U.S. and Japanese troops, now marked by rusted military remains in the island’s rocky caves and forests, as well as underwater shipwrecks.