Elly Watts easily could have sent those soiled boxes to the trash or the landfill after she discovered them in the Winding Creek townhouse shed.
She could have.
But it was like the late Mary Allen was calling out for Watts to just peek into those boxes, because Mary Allen’s life was a story to tell.
“I feel a deep sense of responsibility to ensure that Mary Allen’s story, accomplishments, and legacy are recognized and preserved for her family,” Watts, 40, said Wednesday, “and for the community she served so faithfully.”
An Eastover real estate agent, Watts purchased the townhome in February with the idea of renting it at a reasonable monthly rate to a young military couple stationed at Fort Bragg.
“I know rentals are so expensive now,” she said. “It was in poor shape. It had leaks and the HVAC hadn’t been serviced,” in the years since Mary Allen died at age 97 on December 9, 2016. “I ripped out the stairs, carpet, and all the appliances.”
She replaced the flooring and even the ceiling fans.
“There was a shed on the back of the townhouse,” Watts said. “About 14 people had lived there and never looked in the shed. The shed was not even locked. There were 12 boxes in the shed. I told my contractors to take them to the dump.”
But it almost was like Mary Allen was whispering from the grave.
“I started looking through the boxes,” she said.
What Elly Watts discovered was a trove of writings, letters, and memories of Mary Allen’s life as a young military wife during the Korean War, her years as a teacher at Armstrong Elementary School in Eastover, and later as a real estate broker in Fayetteville.
She learned that Mary Allen was married to Warren Allen, a soldier who served in the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, nicknamed The Triple Nickles, the U.S. Army’s first all-Black airborne unit, based at Fort Benning, Georgia, and later relocated to Fort Bragg.
Retired Maj. Warren Allen was posthumously inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame in 1997, according to the National Ranger Association. The honor recognized his exceptional leadership and valor while serving as company commander of the legendary 2nd Ranger Infantry Company (Airborne) during the early part of the Korean War.
And that the couple knew the injustice of racial discrimination.
Watts says she felt a connection to Mary Allen.
“I saw her Century 21 real estate tag,” she said. “I saw here Certificate of Appreciation for support of The Triple Nickles. I called my husband,” she said about Tommy Watts, who is an Army veteran. “He said, ‘Bring them home immediately. This is a piece of history.’”
Elly Watts took the boxes to her Eastover home.
“I’ve spent time reading through her letters, cards, awards, and personal writings,” Watts said. “I’ve been continually inspired by the remarkable woman she was. The collection tells the story of someone who dedicated herself to others, gave back to her community, and left a lasting impact on the lives of those around her.
“What makes this discovery even more meaningful is that it represents so many significant chapters of American history. It is the story of a devoted military couple through the challenges of the Korean War. It also is a part of the Civil Rights era, reflecting the experiences of sacrifice and achievements of a generation whose story deserves to be remembered.
“Mary Allen was clearly an exceptionally intelligent and gifted woman,” Watts said. “Her writings reveal a person of great depth, wisdom, and talent. She had a remarkable ability to express herself through words, and her voice remains powerful even decades later.”
‘I Love You and Miss You Very Much’
Elly Watts is fascinated and enamored by this woman she never personally came to know.
She loves reading the letter Warren Allen wrote to his wife on May 17, 1953, from Fort Benning when Mary Allen lived with her parents in Fayetteville.
“I love you and miss you very much,” he wrote. “I hope you love me just half as much. Love Warren.”
She marvels at Mary Allen’s first chapter of a book she began, and recalls first meeting the Army lieutenant at Mac’s Tavern, which Allen describes as “one of the few places where Negroes could meet for social occasions near Fayetteville.”
Mary Allen did have a way with words.
“As you play the scenes in your life, you never know when an important one is coming up,” she wrote. “It could be at least a scene of little consequence and then turn out to be one of the memorable (ones) of your life.
“That’s the way it was with me when I bumped into that young lieutenant on the dance floor.
“During a fancy rendition of a popular swing number, my partner had flung me out right into the path of this stranger dancing by,” she wrote. “The stranger smiled at me. I smiled back.”
Mary Perry Allen would become a young paratrooper’s bride and always support his distinguished military career.
Elly Watts sifts through every piece of memorabilia with care. There are a young soldier’s military dog tags, his letters of assurance of his love for a woman, and the U.S. flag that apparently Mary Allen received at Arlington National Cemetery outside of the nation’s capital after Warren Allen’s death at age 54 on February 1, 1973.
A native of Robeson County, Mary Perry Allen died in her townhouse home. She is buried beside her husband at Arlington National Cemetery.
Neighbor Joe Godfrey remembers Mary Allen.
“She was an amazing lady,” he said. “She just had the ability as an older woman to do stuff on her own. She had a car and still driving in her late 80s and early 90s. I would check on her. She passed at home.”
Mary Allen is survived by a daughter who last was residing in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Searching for a Daughter
“I am incredibly grateful that these boxes were found and preserved,” Watts said. “To think that they were really discarded makes me appreciate even more the responsibility of safeguarding them and ensuring they find their way back to her daughter.
“In many ways, it feels as though I was entrusted with this remarkable piece of history for a reason.
“The story of Mary Allen and Warren Allen deserves to be remembered,” Watts said. “A story of service to be preserved, of love and accomplishment. Mr. Warren Allen deserves it as a member of the Triple Nickles, the pioneers of the Black paratrooper unit at Fort Bragg, and Mrs. Allen’s own achievements and contributions makes this collection a rare and invaluable historical treasure.”
Elly Watts sifts through a soldier’s letter to his wife and photos of their military days and years together, and so many other items found in Mary Allen’s shed.
“These are important items for me,” she said, “but I want her family members to have them who can pass them on to their children.”
So far, Watts has had no luck in reaching Mary Allen’s daughter in Virginia. If she cannot find her, Watts’ hope is to see if the Airborne & Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville would be interested. Or perhaps the 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum on Fort Bragg.
‘She Was So Full of Wisdom’
Watts wishes she could have known Mary Allen.
“I would like to say to her that she is an inspiration for women, strong women that are very independent, and I admire the love she had for her husband, her daughter, her sister, her family, and the military community,” she said. “I love that she was so involved in everything, and military life. She was into painting. She wrote a book. She was a teacher. She was a real estate agent. She kept her mother in her home at Winding Creek. Her mother was 100 years old.
“She was so full of wisdom.
“I would love to speak to her,” Watts said. “When I was remodeling the townhouse, I did talk to her. I told her I hoped to find a military family to live there and take care of it. I feel like she would tell me to keep going. If I fall down or have roadblocks, I believe she would encourage me to keep going.”
She pauses for final reflection.
If I could just be,” Watts said, “half the woman she was.”
Epilogue
Elly Watts looks over the letters, the photos, and the old shed’s reminders of Mary Perry Allen’s life.
She says another attempt to reach Mary Allen’s daughter is her plan.
She’s praying and crossing her fingers
“But there’s no way,” Elly Watts said, “I will throw all of this away.”
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
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