Allen Lamm was born in 1924 in Denham Springs, Louisiana. He grew up there and can remember the physical punishment he received from his father for not coming home on time from grammar school. It was such harsh penalty that Lamm never returned home late from school again. His father was owner of a car agency and store. He lost those businesses due to the Depression. He became a farmer after that loss. It was a difficult time for the family even though there was enough food. They raised their own produce, poultry and pork on the farm. The family consisted of Lamm's parents, three daughters and three sons. All three of the brothers served in the war. Lamm learned of the attack on Pearl Harbor as a good friend and he were returning from Denham Springs in a 1936 Chevrolet. He was 17 years old at the time in 1941. The news came over the radio and he remembered well the situation because he knew what was going on with the world events and the role that he and his brothers would have to play in the conflict. He enlisted in the Navy in June 1942. He chose the Navy because of his father's suggestion that in the Navy he would have a dry place to sleep at night. That would be different than the unpredictable situation in the Army. Lamm was glad he selected the Navy for his service.

Allen Lamm enlisted in the Navy and did his basic training in Great Lakes, Illinois. The training was not very challenging. The training was just a routine experience. The trainees slept every night in hammocks attached to pipe racks. In the middle of the night, one individual would move in his hammock and cause others to topple out of their hammocks like potatoes hitting the floor. [Annotator's Note: Lamm chuckles at the memory.] Lamm felt his training was adequate. Although his pay started out less than 21 dollars per month, it gradually increased. After basic training, Lamm was transferred to Norfolk, Virginia. There he was assigned to duty aboard a ship in the Atlantic Ocean. He was a coxswain third class before he advanced to bosun mate. He was assigned to the forward 3"/50 caliber gun on the 494 [Annotator's Note: USS PC-494]. He met a friend onboard the ship and reestablished that connection 64 years after they parted. While participating in gunnery practice on the 494, a PBY carried a sock behind it as a target for the gunners. Lamm's friend, Martin, did not secure the replacement barrel on the 20mm gun and when it was fired it looked like a spear being thrown. Even though the friend was called down by the officer in charge, the men thought it was comical. Lamm advised Martin [Annotator's Note: no further information is given for Martin other than he lived in South Carolina] to not worry about the chastising he received from the officer. The vessel that Lamm served on was a patrol craft or PC. It was over 140 feet long and had a three inch gun on the forward end and several quad 40mms on the back. Crew size was nearly 100. The ship patrolled in the Atlantic protecting convoys. They would shuttle merchant ships to Brazil where other armed ships took over the protective u-boat [Annotator's Note: German submarine] watch. The 494 sank two German submarines and even took some prisoners in the process. A captured u-boat captain had been involved in sinking a large French battleship prior to the United States entering the war. Lamm acquired a sterling silver ring from one of the captives. The sinking of the German u-boat and the prisoner capture occurred off the coast of Brazil. Lamm was aboard the 494 for a couple of years and then he was sent back to the United States.

Allen Lamm returned to the United States from his duty protecting convoys on a patrol craft [Annotator's Note: Lamm had served aboard USS PC-494 for about two years]. He volunteered for Underwater Demolition Team or UDT duty. He liked to swim so he joined and began his training in Coronado, California and furthered it in Maui, Hawaii. He checked out the various types of diving equipment, even some being used by Jacques Cousteau [Annotator's Note: Jacques-Yves Cousteau was a famous underwater diver who helped in the design and innovation of the aqualung making it capable of supporting extended dives and had been decorated for a commando raid against the Italians during World War 2]. While training, Lamm's friend Martin [Annotator's Note: no further information is given for Martin other than he lived in South Carolina] was not able to keep up with the rest of the swimmers. The other stronger swimmers would go back and pull Martin forward with them so he could complete the training exercises. The UDT commander was great. He completed the swimming challenge quickly. The UDT men worked with explosives such as C2 and C4 [Annotator's Note: Composition 2 and Composition 4 are plastic or putty type explosives capable of destroying steel structures such as beach obstacles]. Rubber pipes would be filled with explosives. Shaped charges would also be used. The UDT would be placed aboard a DE, or destroyer escort, to be brought to the point of their operation in the Pacific. On one such operation, the men went to Leyte Gulf where the water was extremely clear and pretty. It was so clear that the depth could not be determined. It was unreal. There were no missions required of Lamm in the Philippines because the Japanese had already left the area. The destruction in the Philippines was extensive. Lamm saw some of the Filipinos. The civilians were very glad to see the Americans. On Guam, Lamm had the opportunity to rest up from the dives that he had been performing. During that time, while taking leisurely daily swims, the Americans came upon five elderly men who wanted to talk. The UDT men talked to them for a while and described their duties and equipment. Later while in the chow hall, one of the other men told them that they had been speaking to Admiral Halsey [Annotator's Note: United States Navy Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey, also known as Bull], the commander of the 5th Fleet. Lamm recognized the elderly man only as an officer, not Admiral Halsey. Shortly afterward, there was a heavy storm that tore the bow off the Pittsburgh [Annotator's Note: USS Pittsburgh (CA-72)]. Despite the loss of the bow and some of it sailors, the Pittsburgh returned to harbor for repairs. Shortly afterward, the UDT men went into the beaches of Okinawa prior to the invasion. They spent about nine hours in the Okinawan water to check out the beach obstacles and then returned to make their report. Just prior to the invasion, the UDT men went back in to the beaches to destroy the obstacles before the Marines landed. Either C2 or C4 moldable explosives were used to destroy the obstacles during low tide. The obstacles were constructed like tripods and built of railroad steel. The intention was for the obstacles to rip out the bottom of a landing craft as it floated above the obstacle at high tide. The destruction of those barriers aided in the landing craft successfully bringing the Marines to shore for the invasion. The UDT men placed a large sign on the beach before they returned to the ship. The sign gave a welcome to the arriving Marines. [Annotator's Note: Lamm chuckles at the memory]. As the invasion began, Lamm was sent to Guam. He was away from the action on Okinawa. Lamm followed the progress of the war, including the end of the war in Europe. The end of the European conflict did not affect the men in the Pacific because they had to look to what was ahead for them. While onboard a ship, Lamm received word that the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan. He thought the war would be over with and it was.

Allen Lamm was concerned for his safety on Okinawa. He did not realize that the splatters in the water were coming from enemy gunfire. He thought it might be raining on him. It was bullets getting too close. Lamm had the radioman call the ship and it fired a salvo at the shore. The firing from the snipers stopped. No one had been hurt by the firing. [Annotator's Note: The UDT men had been clearly beach obstacles prior to the United States Marines landing on Okinawa.] There were 100 UDT men divided in four platoons in his unit [Annotator’s Note: UDT 21]. When the war ended in the Pacific, Lamm was returned to the United States quickly. He arrived in Coronado, California and then was sent to New Orleans, Louisiana. Lamm recollected that his work prior to the invasion was in Naha Harbor in Okinawa. There was nothing but shells left by the Japanese. Lamm had to check residual guns and powder that the enemy had left. He found a supply of .25 caliber sniper rifles left by the Japanese. As he was distributing them to his comrades, a group of officers from the Missouri [Annotator's Note: USS Missouri (BB-63)] came and took the rifles. Lamm looked through his binoculars and saw the rifles were being passed out onboard the battleship. Lamm also observed the signing of the surrender documents onboard the Missouri while it was in Tokyo Bay. A similar situation came up when Lamm discovered some handguns. The guns were thrown overboard rather than letting someone else take them. After the surrender, Lamm returned to the United States. After first landing in Coronado, California, he was given 30 days leave to return to New Orleans. He was discharged in New Orleans and returned to his home in Denham Springs, Louisiana. After being gone for such a long time, Lamm did not know anyone in Denham Springs since the population had grown so much. He felt like a stranger. One of Lamm's brothers did not return from the war. He was a paratrooper who jumped behind the German lines. He was captured and escaped but recaptured. The enemy lined up the captives and told the highest ranking American to step forward. His brother was the man who stepped forward. He was executed. A survivor of the incident came home and told Lamm's family of the loss of their loved one. Lamm never used the GI Bill after his service. He looks at the attitude of the populace today toward the war and feels that the contribution of the veterans is not as appreciated as it should be.