Oral history interview with Lee Allen
Scope and Contents
Transcript (32 pages) and audiocassette recording of an interview with veteran Lee Allen conducted by Mark D. Bell for the Ray Hillam project, dated approximately 1985. Allen went to Vietnam in 1962 and was never wounded. He discusses the brutality of the enemy during the war. He says that the United States press did a poor job in reporting the war, failed to note how brutal the enemy was, and wrongly indicated that the war could not be won. He says the United States could have won the war if the country had been behind the effort and adds that the reason to go to war is to defend God-given rights. He says that he and his family were in a concentration camp for three years in Japan during World War II.
Dates
- approximately 1985
Creator
- Allen, Lee, 1938- (interviewee, Person)
- Bell, Mark D. (interviewer, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Open for public research.
Conditions Governing Use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to use material from this collection must be obtained from Reference Services at specialcollections@byu.edu.
Biographical / Historical
Lee Allen was born in Manila, Philippines, in 1938 to Beulah Estelle Ream and Lt. Col. Henderson Wilcox Allen. As a child, Lee spent the duration of World War II in prisoner-of-war camps with his mother and siblings. His father died in a different prisoner of war camp. Lee and his family returned to America after World War II, where he went on to earn an enlistment at Westpoint, starting a military career of over 20 years. He served as a combat arms officer, in a position with the United Nations, and was stationed in Vietnam and Syria. Lee married Silja Viinikka in 1971 and together they raised five children. Lee died in January 2016, in Provo, Utah.
Biographical / Historical
Mark D. Bell interviewed Vietnam War veterans for the Ray Hillam war project in 1985.
Extent
2 folders (0.02 linear ft.)
Language of Materials
English
Custodial History
These materials were donated to Special Collections by Ray Hillam in 1999.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated; Ray Hillam; 1999.
Appraisal
Utah and the American West and LDS cultural, social, and religious history (20th century Western & Mormon Manuscripts collection development policy, 5.VII, 2007).
Processing Information
Processed; Karen Glenn; 2020.
- Title
- Register of Oral history interview with Lee Allen
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Rose Frank
- Date
- 22 February 2011
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English in Latin script.
Repository Details
Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States