Rank and Name, Seaman Apprentice Joseph Bright Allen.
Unit/Placed, SS Thomas McKean (Liberty Class Freighter), Navy Armed Guard.
Joseph was born on September 29, 1920 in , North Carolina.
Father, William Edward Allen.
Mother, Lummie (Parker) Allen.
Sister(s), Eula A. and Ester M. Allen.
Joseph enlisted the Navy in North Carolina with service number # 6563412.
Joseph ‘s rank was a Seaman Apprentice/Medical Administration on-board the SS Thomas McKean.
Joseph was KIA when the SS Thomas McKean was Torpedoed by the German submarine U-505 of the Bahama’s on June 29, 1942, he is honored with a Combat Action Ribbon, American Campaign Medal and the WWII Victory Medal.
Joseph is buried/mentioned at East Coast Memorial Manhattan, New York County (Manhattan), New York, USA
Tablets of the missing.
Joseph also has a Memorial grave at Sunset Memorial Park Smithfield, Johnston County, North Carolina, USA.
Thanks to https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/1871.html
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/GHQS-MDR
Jean Louis Vijgen, ww2-Pacific.com ww2-europe.com
Air Force Info, Rolland Swank.
ABMC Website, https://abmc.gov
Marines Info, https://missingmarines.com/ Geoffrey Roecker
Seabees History Bob Smith https://seabeehf.org/
Navy Info, http://navylog.navymemorial.org
POW Info, http://www.mansell.com Dwight Rider and Wes injerd.
Philippine Info, http://www.philippine-scouts.org/ Robert Capistrano
Navy Seal Memorial, http://www.navysealmemorials.com
Family Info, https://www.familysearch.org
Info, https://www.pacificwrecks.com/
Medals Info, https://www.honorstates.org
Medals Forum, https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/
Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com
Tank Destroyers, http://www.bensavelkoul.nl/
WordPress en/of Wooncommerce oplossingen, https://www.siteklusjes.nl/
Military Recovery, https://www.dpaa.mil/
The German submarine U-505 is currently preserved as a Museum ship.
LOST AT SEA
The Liberty ship SS THOMAS MCKEAN was an American cargo steamer owned by the Calmer SS Company, homeported in Baltimore and launched in May 1942. The ship had a Navy armed guard unit aboard of which Seaman Apprentice Joseph Bright Allen was a member.
On June 29, 1942, THOMAS MCKEAN was on her maiden voyage bound from Philadelphia to New York to Trinidad and then to Bandar Shapur, Iran, with a cargo of 9,000 tons of war supplies consisting of foodstuffs, trucks, tanks and 11 aircraft as well as ammunition in the number one cargo hold and aviation fuel in the number two cargo hold. As THOMAS MCKEAN zigzaged at 10 knots on a course approximately 350 miles northeast of Puerto Rico, a torpedo from the German submarine U-505 slammed into her behind the number five cargo hold, destroying the stern gun and reportedly killing three Navy armed guards. Due to the extensive damage and the volatile nature of the cargo, the ship was immediately ordered abandoned and within ten minutes the 60 people on board were moving away in the four lifeboats. Shortly thereafter U-505 surfaced and began shelling the ship, firing 72 rounds that set her on fire.
After THOMAS MCKEAN sank, U-505 questioned the survivors and boarded at least one lifeboat to administer first aid to at least one of several crewmembers who had been injured. All four lifeboats eventually reached safety although records report that one merchant marine seaman and a member of the Navy armed guard died in lifeboats before reaching safety.
Unfortunately, Joseph Bright Allen was one of the casualties of the sinking and his body was never recovered. Little information concerning him remains in addition to his date of birth and the fact that his home state was North Carolina.
