Alice Allen

0:02

alright so I see the resemblance

0:04

Laughter

0:08

this is the wife of Mr. Allen, so could you introduce yourself

0:11

I am Alice Allen

0:16

from what you’ve told us you knew each other

0:19

before Mr. Allen shipped off to the war

0:23

we went to high school together okay

0:27

How long were you together before he left

0:32

we met in 10th grade and we graduated from high school together in

0:36

1947 and I went to Cal engine

0:40

and i taught school, while he was there

0:44

how was it when he left, what was that like

0:48

did you give him a hard time no I remember we brought him to Syracuse

0:51

he left from here, was it hard to say goodbye to him

0:55

yeah

1:00

what did you know about the Korean War or anything

1:03

did you know kind what he was getting into or

1:07

I guess he shipped off to the Mediterranean before the war, yeah I went into the military in 1948

1:12

and the Korean war didn’t start until 1950

1:16

so we were extended for one year

1:19

you guys were able to keep in touch

1:23

throughout through letters yes we used to write, you were home a few times

1:27

so he told you

1:30

I guess about his yes easy action in the Mediterranean

1:37

and then he switched to Korea

1:40

and was that kinda scary for you, probably

1:48

how was teaching for you while he was over there what was that like, it kept her busy

1:52

I went to college

1:55

three years before I was teaching

1:59

so I was teaching two years before he came home

2:05

and so what was it like when he finally came home

2:08

great

2:12

it was great just to have him home, he came home in the spring and we get married in the summer

2:16

so you

2:20

didn’t waste any time, you didn’t want to let him go again, right

2:24

was it scary when he came back with his

2:28

arm and his leg

2:33

you probably didn’t get home for quite awhile, that’s true, that’s true

2:41

the only thing I had was the first three fingers I found out that there is a different

2:46

nerve that controls these and another one that controls these

2:50

you wouldn’t know this if you didn’t know that I’d had

2:54

an operation on it

2:58

I’m left-handed anyhow so that made it easier

3:05

how do you feel about this project we’re

3:08

inviting the veterans here to tell

3:12

us about their experiences and of course we’d like to hear about the experiences of their family

3:16

and how it impacted you and

3:19

everybody and just let future generations

3:23

know about the Korean War

3:27

so, what are your feelings about this whole project

3:33

and how you are now participating in it

3:37

I think it’s good, why

3:41

well different ones, the young ones will know more about it

3:45

young soldiers or

3:49

our own children and

3:55

throughout the years did you have did

3:59

your husband

4:02

he said that it took a little while for him to open up and express those experiences, were you a part of that, how was it like when he started to open up

4:08

I guess I didn’t know

4:12

that much either, do you remember when I called

4:15

yes we were already in Syracuse weren’t we

4:20

we first lived in Binghamton

4:23

so it was after we came up here that you called

4:30

I was in the paper when they had in there about the Chosin few

4:33

or something

4:40

it was an interesting phone call, wasn’t it

4:45

so what was it like to hear about his experiences and learn because I guess you

4:48

guess you didn’t really know, what was that like to learn about that, kinda scary, or

4:53

it was good to hear about it

4:58

did it seem like he wanted to discuss it, or was

5:03

kind of reluctant to share his feelings

5:06

I guess he finally did, right

5:09

I can remember it was a long while I was home before we started talking about it

5:13

yeah

5:18

is there anything that you can tell us, I guess about him coming back

5:23

how that impacted your relationship, and your family’s relationship

5:27

did his experience change anything for the better or the worse

5:36

I don’t think so, I guess we were older

5:42

hat’s about all

5:45

We lived in a small town and coming home was an

5:51

experience, wasn’t it

6:04

so what’s it like know

6:07

that he’s talking about it

6:11

she’s gonna say I talk too much about it

6:15

he talks too much about it now

6:19

thank you for

6:23

Coming up here and talking to us, thank you