Obituary of John Edward Allen

John (Jack) E. Allen, 95, a retired CIA officer, died June 12, 2015, at Falcons Landing Retirement Community, in Sterling, VA., where he was beloved and admired by the residents and staff alike. The cause was heart and kidney failure. Mr. Allen was a loyal friend to many people: both his keen intellectual curiosity and his sense of humor remained with him until the end. As a manager in the CIA he exhibited a sense of fairness, and great empathy; he cared deeply about the welfare of his colleagues and their families. He worked hard to break the glass barrier for women and minorities with whom he worked. Mr. Allen attributes his intellectual curiosity and academic success to his grand father who taught him Latin, and introduced him to the Great Books before he entered elementary school. Mr. Allen was completing his course work at the University of Michigan when Pearl Harbor was bombed on Dec 7. 1941. Michigan was one of the few schools to offer a course in Japanese Language, and Mr. Allen devoted his last semester to the study of Japanese with his usual academic vigor. He mastered the language and became fluent in German and French, and could read Latin; he also learned Greek as well as some Spanish and Italian. After graduation Mr. Allen joined the Marines and was sent to the Navy School of Oriental Language for intensive study of written and spoken Japanese. Mr. Allen earned the bronze star for his service as a Marine intelligence officer in Makin, Marshall Islands, Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima, taking part in the initial invasions of these islands. Mr. Allen participated in the surrender of a major Naval base in Southern Japan. Mr. Allen attended the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies after the war, completing all course work for his doctorate. He would say he was "All but dissertation." In 1948, Mr. Allen joined the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS), an overt branch of the CIA created in 1941 to monitor open source communications of the Axis powers. Mr. Allen rapidly rose to bureau chief and ran FBIS stations in Cyprus, Okinawa and Tokyo. Mr. Allen retired as deputy director of FBIS in 1973 and devoted his time to travel, reading and mentoring young friends, most of whom were children of his colleagues at FBIS. Mr. Allen's prized possessions were his books. Mr. Allen's funeral Mass was held at Christ the Redemeer Church of Sterling and he was interred at Quantico National Cemetery.