Donald A. Allan
Donald A. Allan was a veteran, journalist, and CIA spy. During World War II, Allan served in the U.S. 15th Air Force based in Italy. He was shot down over Hungary and spent ten months as a prisoner of war in Germany, escaping twice according to his obituary. Allan began his journalism career writing for the Redwood City Tribune and San Francisco News, later joining the city staff at The New York Times. In 1952, Allan resigned from The Times saying “a job to his liking had become available in Spain.” In reality, he’d accepted an offer from the CIA and was headed to Italy. Last week, the FBI released 60 pages about Allan in response to my FOIA request in the fall of 2020. The documents detail background checks conducted the year before Allan joined the CIA, including journalism colleagues recommending him “for a position of trust.” While in Italy, Allan continued his work in journalism with assignments for CBS News and United Press. But decades later, in an interview with The New York Times, Allan admitted that “his career as reporter was nothing more than a cover for his intelligence activities.” Allan’s career in the CIA came to an abrupt halt in 1956 when he, following an argument with his wife, stabbed an Italian journalist. The Italian court later ruled the stabbing a crime of passion, and Allan was released after less than a year in prison. He divorced, remarried and returned to the United States where he found work with UNICEF and WWF.