Willis Turner Allman was the perfect example of “The Greatest Generation.” Before he became the father to two boys that would become music legends, Allman served his country bravely during World War II. The Allman family patriarch was part of the Allied forces that stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day in 1944, forever changing the tide of the war in Europe (via Rolling Stone). After the war, Allman was made a Second Lieutenant and took a job as a recruitment officer. He and his wife had two boys shortly after, Duane in 1946 and Gregg in 1947. The recruiter position took the young Allman family from their Nashville home to new digs outside of Norfolk, Virginia. It would be here that tragedy would strike.
The Virginian-Pilot reports that Allman and another officer, Robert Buchanan, were out one evening when they encountered a man that had been hitchhiking. The two military men befriended the man, playing games of shuffleboard with him and having drinks as the three of them hopped from bar to bar. At the end of the night, Allman and Buchanan agreed to give the man a ride home. Their rider gave them directions, leading them to a remote location that was known as Lambert’s Farm. Here, he drew a handgun on his hosts and ordered them to get out of the car.
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The man forced Allman and Buchanan to give him their wallets and had them walk further out into the dark field in front of them. The gunman then gave the order for them to lie on the ground, face-down.
