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Motor Machinist's Mate 1st Class Fred C. Allen Jr. was serving aboard the USS Frederick C. Davis (DE 136) when it was hit and sunk by German Submarine U-546 in the North Atlantic on April 24, 1945. Out of 195 sailors onboard, 113 lost their lives when the ship sunk that day. From UBoat.Net: USS Frederick C. Davis (DE 136) (Lt J.R. Crosby, USNR) was participating in Operation Teardrop, a hunt for snorkel-equipped U-boats in the Western Atlantic and was part of the 4th Escort Division, which screened the escort carrier USS Bogue (CVE 9) in the Southern Surface Barrier. On 24 April 1945, U-546 discovered USS Bogue about 570 miles east-southeast of Cape Race and tried to attack on periscope depth, but USS Frederick C. Davis discovered the U-boat and prepared herself for an attack. At this moment a Gnat struck forward on the port side. The ship broke in two and sank quickly with the bow and stern raising into the air. The crew abandoned ship and survivors were picked up within three hours by the other escort destroyers of the Division, after they had sunk U-546.
Fred C. Allen Jr. was awarded the Purple Heart.