Virginia Claudon Allen
Virginia Claudon Allen (born July 26, 1919) is an American former radio host and Red Cross volunteer who worked in India during World War II. She hosted a nightly radio show to counter Tokyo Rose and help boost troop morale, similar to other programs like GI Jive. She graduated from the College of William & Mary in 1940.
During the war, she first volunteered at Ream Army General Hospital in Palm Beach, Florida. She then joined Army Intelligence and worked at Morrison Field (now Palm Beach International Airport). After her fiancé, Lieutenant Langdon Long, died in Africa, she requested an overseas Red Cross assignment. She joined the Red Cross as a Second Lieutenant and trained at Fort Belvoir.
She arrived in India late in the war and ran the Repairadise Club in Agra. The Agra station was one of sixteen in the Indian-Burma theater. The airbase at Agra was an important depot for the India-China Division, Air Transport Command. She described the conditions: there were no personal radios or U.S. newspapers, and movies after dark were black-and-white westerns. Homesickness was common, and their job was to keep soldiers busy with activities like volleyball, golf, basketball, and baseball. Her radio messages were upbeat, broadcasting about 55 minutes each night, and the soldiers appreciated the music and her efforts.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:57 (CET).