Veteran of the Week: Rick Allen
Rick Allen (Record Photo/Nick Sellers)
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By Nick Sellers | Staff Writer
MADISON – These days, United States Army and Vietnam veteran Rick Allen spends his days helping his daughter care for his three young grandchildren in Madison, dropping off one at school every day and caring for two others on weekdays.
It’s reminiscent of the dedication he had to his country, as he spent eight years and eight months in the active duty branch of the Army.
After graduating in 1962, Allen “piddled around a little bit,” as he described it, before enlisting in the Army.
His father was a World War II veteran who served in Okinawa and his grandfather served in World War I.
“When I was growing up, my dad acted like me and my brother were in the military,” Allen said. “He inspected our rooms everyday.”
Allen completed his basic training in Fort Knox, Ky. in July and August and soon went to Fort Sill, Okla. for artillery school.
It wasn’t long after that when Allen and his unit were given orders to help respond to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
“I spent two weeks sleeping on the wings of an airplane waiting to go to Cuba,” Allen said.
Allen also had a place in U.S. history as part of the Army, as he was ordered to go to Tuscaloosa in June 1963 when the first black student enrolled in the University of Alabama.
“We were riding around in Jeeps, and they had to put chicken wire around it because the students were throwing rocks at us,” Allen said.
After a tour in Korea, Allen was assigned to the 11th Air Assault Division and served during the Tet Offensive in the early part of 1968.
After leaving Vietnam the same year, Allen came back to Redstone and became an instructor with the Army before getting out of active duty in 1971 as a Sergeant First Class.
Allen worked at the Anniston Army Depot for 16 years and worked other jobs until his retirement a few years ago.
