He subsequently moved to West Virginia and joined the Daily Mail in Charleston, where he worked as a reporter and a telegraph editor for six years.
During his assignment covering the British Mediterranean Fleet, he took part as a journalist in the Battle of Crete and the Tobruk's raid.
Allen survived eight torpedo attacks and was held in a Nazi prison camp for eight months.
In 1945, Allen was also awarded the Bronze Star for the Defending Freedom Press as Prisoner of War, in 1947 — the Order of the British Empire by King George VI.
In 1957, Allen shifted his focus to the Fidel Castro takeover in Cuba, but four years later he was retired.