Jack Sparling. He served on General Patton's staff in World War II, reaching the rank of colonel. During a reconnaissance mission, Allen lost his right arm in combat fire. His wartime diary would be published after his death. In 1947, he edited the book Our Fair City, an exposé of corrupt conditions in American municipalities. He also wrote Lucky Forward: The History of Patton's Third Army. Papers concerning his military career reside in the George S. Patton Museum at Fort Knox, Kentucky. According to documents released by the CIA in 2007, Allen was the subject of a wiretap operation, Project Mockingbird. Associated Press reported: "Under pressure from Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy" in 1962, CIA director John McCone "agreed to tap the telephones of columnists Robert S. Allen and Paul Scott in an effort to identify their sources for classified information which was appearing in their columns," says a memo a decade later to the agency's director." Death Allen died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Georgetown on February 23, 1981, at age 80. He also had cancer at the time of his death, and the effects of the disease had forced him to retire the year prior. References 1900 births 1981 deaths 1981 suicides 20th-century American journalists American male journalists 20th-century American non-fiction writers American columnists American spies for the Soviet Union Burials at Arlington National Cemetery The Christian Science Monitor people Journalists from Kentucky Journalists from Washington, D.C. Military personnel from Kentucky People from Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) People from Kenton County, Kentucky Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Silver Star Suicides by firearm in Washington, D.C. United States Army colonels United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army reservists University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni 20th-century American male writers