In continuing its mission to take history out of the textbooks by honoring a local veteran each month of the school year, the Hampton Bays School District is paying tribute to Vietnam veteran Lee Allen by flying an American flag in his honor throughout the month of October.

“The district is proud to honor Mr. Allen for his service to the United States,” said Superintendent of Schools Lars Clemensen.

The American flag was raised during a ceremony at Hampton Bays Elementary School on Oct. 16. During the event, high school jazz band members performed and Mr. Allen’s biography was read.

Mr. Allen was born in December 1943 in Queens while his father was serving in the Army in the South Pacific. After the war, the family moved to Long Island, where his father became employed by the New York Telephone Company. Mr. Allen attended school in Hampton Bays from 1955 to 1959 and then graduated in 1962 from Bay Shore High School, which is where he met his wife, Peg.

Upon graduation, Mr. Allen enrolled at Paul Smith’s College in the Adirondacks before transferring to LIU Post in Westbury. He then went on to follow in his father’s footsteps by going to work for the New York Telephone Company.

In March of 1966, Mr. Allen was drafted into the Army. He was sent to Fort Gordon in Georgia for basic training and transferred to Fort Belvoir in Virginia for engineering school. He was then assigned to the 563rd Support Company stationed at Fort Lee in Virginia.

Just two months prior to his deployment to Vietnam, Mr. Allen married Peg. The pair lived on base until October 1966, when Mr. Allen was assigned to the First Logistical Command at Long Binh. Their mission was to provide transportation of heavy material to outlying combat units and complete ongoing construction projects.

While in Vietnam, Mr. Allen and his unit showed the true compassion of the American soldier by supporting a local orphanage. The unit arranged to have building supplies sent to the orphanage.

In October 1967, Mr. Allen was sent back to the United States, where he was assigned to Fort Bragg. There, he worked to supply support for the 82nd Airborne Division. In March of 1968, he was honorably discharged.

After returning to civilian life, Mr. Allen returned to work for the New York Telephone Company in Bay Shore, and he and his wife welcomed their first son, Gregg. Then in 1972, Mr. Allen built a home in Hampton Bays and the family established their roots within the community. Two years later, the Allen family welcomed a second son, Jason. Both boys graduated from Hampton Bays High School.    

In May 1995, after 31 years, Mr. Allen retired from the phone company as an area operations manager and began volunteering in the community. Mr. Allen is a member of the Hand-Aldrich Post of the American Legion, where he sits on the Boy’s State Nominating Committee. He is the financial officer and quarter master of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Westhampton and is a three-term past president of the Southampton Kiwanis Club. Mr. Allen has also held leadership roles at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church and is currently the director of the Brotherhood of St. Andrews.