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Pamela LaVerne Jeans-Historian
to remember
Marine TSgt Walter Henry Allen.
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Casualty Info
Home Town Philadelphia
Last Address Philadelphia, PA
Casualty Date Apr 23, 1951
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Gun, Small Arms Fire
Location Korea, North
Conflict Korean War
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Early in 194O, the commandant stated that the question of paratroop and airborne activities for the Marine Corps was under consideration. Naval attaches were requested to furnish reports of recent parachute activity on the part of the Germans, Russians, and French in particular. The Division of Plans and Policies put forth a tentative recommendation for the formation of a tactical, parachute organization. Marine parachute troops were conceived as light shock troops whose function was:
(1) To act as a reconnoitering and raiding force to secure and transmit information or to destroy strategic installations of sufficient importance to warrant the risk of the force;
(2) To act as a spearhead, similar to an advance force, which seizes and holds critical terrain features;
(3) To act as a force which can be placed in large numbers into a position of tactical advantage where it can operate as a self-sustaining unit for a considerable length of time.