Doris "Lucki" Allen (1927-present) served in the U.S. Army's intelligence division. In her work in intelligence reporting, she detected one of the biggest movements in the Vietnam War — and her chain of command’s decision to disregard her findings changed the course of military history.
All month, we're talking about Spies. Tune in to hear incredible stories of intelligence and espionage!
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Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan and this is Encyclopedia Womannica.
For those of you tuning in for the first time, welcome! Here’s the deal: Every weekday, we’re highlighting the stories of women you may not know about, but definitely should. We’re talking about women from around the world and throughout history. Each month is themed. This month is all about spies.
Today, we’re talking about a woman who broke boundaries during her time in the army. Her work in intelligence reporting detected one of the biggest movements in the Vietnam War — and her chain of command’s decision to disregard her findings changed the course of military history. Meet Doris “Lucki” Allen.
Lucki was born Doris Allen in El Paso, Texas, in 1927. She was the youngest of five children. After graduating high school, she attended Tuskegee University before spending a few years in odd jobs. She got her nickname after she and her sister survived a near-disastrous car malfunction: as they were riding down the road, the car hood popped open. They pulled over without injuries. Since Doris had found a lucky quarter on the ground right before the accident, the name stuck — she called herself “Lucki,” and her sister got the nickname “Jinx.”
Growing up, Lucki was well aware of the challenges posed by being a Black woman in a field predominantly occupied by white men. While working as a teacher, the school’s principal encouraged students to disregard Lucki’s classroom rules. Rather than sit through another day of the same treatment, Lucki quit her job on the spot.
In 1950, Lucki enlisted in the U.S. Women’s Army Corps. She entered as part of the newspaper division, helping to compile army reports for field operators. From 1951 to 1953, she served in Japan and reported on wounded and hospitalized soldiers during the Korean War. She was promoted to Sergeant before returning to the U.S., where she served under her sister Jinx’s command.
Lucki soon grew restless in her position. She decided not only to pursue a new career path, but to learn an entirely new language in order to do so. She taught herself French and Spanish and served as the sole strategic intelligence analyst covering Latin American affairs until 1965. During this time, she also became the first female prisoner of war interrogator.
In 1967, at 40 years old, Lucki was deployed to work intelligence in the Vietnam War. She was one of a few Women’s Army Corps members working in the country, and even fewer working in intelligence roles. The men she worked with were less than hospitable to their female peers.
She quickly realized her own work was undervalued by superiors. Even after her intelligence reporting saved the lives of 101 Marines, she struggled to have her reports taken seriously. Years later, Lucki would recall these dismissals by saying, “They weren’t prepared for me. They didn’t know how to look beyond the WAC, Black woman in military intelligence.”
Just three months into her work in Vietnam, Lucki recognized the beginnings of a massive attack from enemy troops. She realized 50,000 Communist troops were prepping for an assault during the Vietnamese New Year. Lucki sent the warning up her chain of command with thirty days to spare, but, once again, her report went unheeded. The attack went ahead. Today, we know it as the Tet Offensive, one of the biggest intelligence failures in military history.
Even after Tet, Lucki’s superiors continued to disregard her messages. The next year, she had to remain in a briefing room, against direct orders to leave, in order to get people to listen to a warning of another planned attack. When her captain finally sent out test fires, her warning was once again proven true — this time, early enough to save lives.
Lucki remained in Vietnam even after her name made it into enemy documents. The third time she saw her name printed, she decided it was time to come home. Upon her return to the U.S., Lucki became the first official full-time female instructor of the Army Intelligence School Interrogator POW course.
Lucki earned three bronze stars for her service in Vietnam. She was inducted into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame in 2009. She was the second African American woman to achieve that honor. She was in good company, the first was Mary Elizabeth Bowser, whose story we’re telling in a few weeks!
Lucki retired from the military in 1980 after a 30-year career. She later earned a doctorate in psychology. She also chronicled her time in Vietnam in a 2014 memoir, “Three Days Past Yesterday: A Black Woman’s Journey Through Incredibility.” As recently as 2016, she continued to flex her intelligence reporting skills as a private investigator.
All month, we’re talking about spies.
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Talk to you tomorrow!