The Killing of 2nd Lt. Allman

     Second Lt. Willis T. Allman was a veteran of the Omaha Beach landing during the D-Day invasion of Normandy. By December 1949 he had served thirteen years in service. On December 26, while his wife and two sons were in Rocky Mount, NC, visiting her family, Allman was playing shuffleboard at the Oriental Gardens in Norfolk with his friend Lt. Robert Buchanan. They were joined there by a guy they didn't know who was also playing shuffleboard in the club named Michael R. "Buddy" Green. After playing a few games Green left for a short time and upon his return to the club, he asked the two if they would take him to another club to play some more shuffleboard. 

    While riding in the backseat, Green produced a revolver and ordered them to pull the car over. He took their wallets with the $4.85 they had between them and made them lie down in a muddy field. Buchanan later testified that he said, "Don't shoot us, Buddy", and Green replied, "Too bad for you because you know my name". With that, Allman lunged at the gunman, and Buchanan ran to find help. He heard two gunshots and not finding anyone to help, returned to the field and saw Green driving away and Allman with a fatal chest wound. Allman died soon after, and in a very short time, Green was arrested at his home in Ocean View. Ironically, the two victims had no idea Green's nickname was Buddy. It was just what Buchanan used because he didn't know his name. 

    Green was found guilty of murder with Buchanan returning from his assignment in Korea to testify. He was sentenced to death, but on the eve of his execution, Governor John Battle commuted his sentence to life. The Governor consulted with mental health experts and felt Green was temporarily insane due to his combat experience in WWII. Green spent the rest of his life in prison.

    Willis T. Allman left a legacy, however. His two sons were Duane, and Gregg Allman of the Southern Rock, and Blues band, The Allman Brothers. They had no memory of their father and were raised by their mother Geraldine Allman. Their father was robbed and murdered by a fellow veteran for $4.85. Sometimes this world just makes no sense. 

The Sad Story of Evelyn Crutchfield

 

           Evelyn was from Allentown and was the youngest child, and only daughter of Augustus, and Eula Crutchfield. In 1942 when she was 20 years old, World War II was raging and with her desire to help her country she became the first in Santa Rosa County to enlist as a Navy WAVE. (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service.)

            She completed her primary testing and examinations in Birmingham in October 1942, then went to the University of Indiana in Bloomington for four months of training before assigned to duty as a Storekeeper at NAS Millington, located just northeast of Memphis, Tenn.

            Around 12:30 pm on July 13, 1943 Evelyn was standing near the door of the armory at the Naval Air Tech Training Center, when she was accidently shot by Pfc. Frank L. Richmond. Some newspaper articles I found and her death certificate state it was a machine gun. She received an abdomen wound that severed her spine. She lived long enough to make it to the base hospital, but died soon after.

            I can only imagine the effect her death had on her family. Her body was shipped back home and she was buried on July 16, 1943 at the Calvary Baptist Church Cemetery in Allentown. Two Reverend’s officiated her service, Rev. E.R. Vincent, and Rev. R.G. Key. Her pallbearers were, Jim Leonard, Mac Mclaughlin, Jean Wilson, J.T. Wiggins, Thomas Allen, and Earl Wolfe. Her honorary pallbearers were, Dr. Rufus Thames, Earl Lewis, D.P. McLaughlin, Joe Wilson, Raymond Dozier, L.H. Dondall, E.H. Lundy, Louis Manning, Charles Morris, Cary Phillips, Roy Oglesby, and Joe T. Allen.

            You can tell how well someone is thought of in a community by seeing who was honored by attending them at their funeral. These names are like a “Who’s Who” from the surrounding area.

            I don’t know if Pfc. Richmond was held accountable. I cannot find out if there was any punishment. I also don’t really know what occurred that caused him to discharge a loaded weapon in an unsafe environment.

            In February of 1963 Frank Richmond was working for the Pure Oil Company. He was in Madison, Tennessee scouting locations for future service stations. He was riding in a car with Leon Beard, a real estate salesman, when Beard swerved to avoid hitting a dog. The car crashed into one driven by Mrs. Lola Davenport, 59 who was a secretary for the Guaranty Realty Company. Beard and Davenport survived the crash, but Richmond was dead on arrival. The county Medical Examiner said Richmond died from a broken neck, and fractured skull. At the time of his death his residence was Center Point, Alabama, but he grew up in Memphis.

Evelyn Crutchfield

Book Release news.

 Hello everybody, 

I'm going to change this blog up a little bit going forward. I will still post some vintage crime stories on here for sure, but also will include other more current news. I published my book a couple of weeks ago and I seem to be getting some good feedback so far. 

I self-published through Lulu.com, and I am pretty satisfied, but I think my next one will be through KDP on Amazon. I've heard good things about it. 

My Book, Not too bad for first effort.

I had an informal, little advertised book signing at our Genealogical Society meeting and sold 5, or 6 books. A few days ago I had a book signing at the Jay Museum during their Halloween festivities, and had a really good turnout. I sold maybe 25, but probably would have been more if I had displayed better. On that note, I have received my posters, and new business cards in the mail today. I'm also thinking about ordering a "sandwich board" type sign for future signings.

Heather, from Heatha Featha barbershop offered to have a book signing there at her shop, and I think I will take her up on that. 

I have had quite a few book orders I filled at home and sent personally, and there have been quite a few orders on Amazon, but I will not know how that is doing for another month or so. 

So, in closing for today, I expect to be much more active on here in the future. I'm still having some health issues, especially with my mobility, but hopefully I will get that fixed soon. Stay tuned....

Lulu Bookstore:

https://www.lulu.com/shop/richard-wood/mayhem-in-the-florida-panhandle/paperback/product-y9z9jk.html?q=mayhem+in+the+florida+panhandle&page=1&pageSize=4