Like many women of her generation, Virginia "Ginny" Claudon Allen '40 felt compelled to serve her country as it entered World War II. She enlisted in the American Red Cross, obtaining the rank of second lieutenant. Her early work as a nurse involved extensive training in rare diseases, but it was her personality, her heart and a William and Mary speech class that would ultimately allow her to provide the most valuable care of all -- entertaining homesick soldiers.
In 1945 Allen arrived in Calcutta, India, and was assigned to a club -- or social outpost for soldiers -- first in Karachi (now in Pakistan) and later in Agra, India.
"It was in Karachi that I learned the intricacies of becoming a GI Jill in answer to Tokyo Rose," she recalls, referencing the name given by U.S. forces during the war to the English-speaking female broadcasters of Japanese propaganda.
As part of her weekly duty, Allen spent 55 minutes each night on the radio running an up beat program that included contemporary music. "We had great respect from the servicemen who seemed to appreciate everything we tried to do for them," says Allen.
Her entertaining also reached beyond the airwaves. When a corporal with a talent for the piano created a musical titled What's the Matter With Our Love, Allen ending up with a leading role.
"Our work was primarily oriented toward diversions for the homesick soldiers," says Allen. "GIs who had earned a day off were piled into trucks, and with our canteens filled, we visited some of their favorite places." Destinations included the Taj Mahal and the Forbidden City of Fathepursikri.
One evening after working particularly late, Allen returned to her living quarters to discover soldiers dancing in the streets. "Rumor created two celebrations," remembers Allen. "The first -- wishful thinking; the second correctly announcing the Japanese surrender. It was not long before our club was to close."
However, the end of the war did not dictate an immediate homeward journey. Allen received orders from the Red Cross to audition for famed actor Col. Melvyn Douglas of the entertainment and production unit. She subsequently earned one of two female leads in the touring production of Noel Coward's classic piece, Private Lives, as well as a role in the musical Call Me Mister. The performances received rapturous reviews from the 3,000 entertainment-starved GIs on the last leg of their own tours.
After the tour ended, Allen continued her radio career, becoming a regular on a midnight horror program for GI Radio. She was later transferred to Shanghai, China. Not long afterward, she came down with a fever and was sent back to the United States.
Not surprisingly, Allen faced a number of challenges during her time in Asia. One of them, however, presented her a lifetime of happiness: "Rumor had it that I was supposedly having an affair with an officer," says Allen, emphasizing that there was no truth to the gossip. "I decided that to reinforce my unavailability, I would become engaged." Unbeknownst to him, Capt. Scribner Allen, a family friend serving in Okinawa, became her fiance. She later did, in fact, marry him.
Following the war, Allen concentrated on public relations for the Pittsfield County American Red Cross in Massachusetts and created two radio programs, which she hosted right up until a week before the birth of her first child in 1949. She is the mother of two and the grandmother of three. Her husband passed away in 1997, shortly after their 50th wedding anniversary.
Currently, Allen splits her time between Minneapolis, Minn., and Palm Springs, Fla. She is working on recording the "hilarious family stories that enriched [her] life." For someone who has provided so much enriching entertainment to countless people, it is almost certain that those recordings will be valued by generations to come.
Photo courtesy of Virginia Claudon Allen '40
