| Notes |
Son of the Jay Douglas Stafford and Margaret Day, both of English decent.
Husband of Gladys E. Abineri, who he met and married in Augsberg, Germany, while working with the Red Cross. They had one daughter, Elizabeth Stafford Stublen.
A graduate of Cornell University, Allison served as a field director in the American Red Cross for 37 years. His job took him around the world to places including the Marshall Islands, Germany, France, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia. He helped to develop the life-saving program for the seven Mercury astronauts who trained at Little Creek Amphibious Base. He served two tours of duty in Vietnam and was instrumental in having the family of his Vietnamese secretary airlifted to the United States during the fall of Saigon in 1975.
During World War II, he took a leave of absence from the Red Cross and joined the US Army Air Corps as an enlisted man and while assigned as an usher at the National Cathedral in Washington, D. C., he met First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who was so taken with Allison's charm, she invited him to a dinner at the White House with her and the President. Allison was sent to England as a member of the 603rd Bombardment Squadron, 398th Bombardment Group (Heavy) 8th Air Force. His administrative efficiency worked well for him in the Air Corps and he rose in rank to Sergeant Major in the squadron's headquarters office.
Allison was the founder of the Norfolk, Virginia, Gator Volksmarching Club and a member of the St John's United Methodist Church in that city. He was an avid photographer and gardener who enjoyed sharing this photos and beautiful flowers with his many neighbors and friends. He also enjoyed collecting autographed photos, a hobby he began as a young man in Washington, D.C., obtaining autographed photos of FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt, Winston Churchill , Marian Anderson and more.
Allison was the Field Director of the American Red Cross at the Norfolk Naval Base, Norfolk, Virginia, when he accepted an assignment as the Field Director in Saigon, South Vietnam in August, 1967. He had previously held that same position in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Chaumont France and Ramstein Air Force Base, Frankfurt, Germany as well as many other stations around the world. He worked for the Red Cross for 37 years.
Allison passed away peacefully in Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital, Norfolk, Virginia.
Allison earned the following decorations for his World War II Army and American Red Cross service:
- Army Good Conduct Medal
- American Campaign Medal
- European Theater of Operations Campaign Medal with bronze campaign stars
- World War II Victory Medal
- Army Occupation Medal with Germany Bar
- Red Cross European Theater of Operations Ribbon
Allison also received many other service awards from the Red Cross for his service but a full accounting of those awards are not known as of this writing.
|
1919 - 2007 (88 years)
