Schwartz, Allen Papers

Psychological Warfare Officer, United States Army, 1952-1953.

The papers of Allen Schwartz contain materials pertaining to Schwartz’s service as a Psychological Warfare Officer during the Korean War. The records are composed primarily of leaflets and news sheets written in Chinese and Korean and summaries of them composed by the Psychological Warfare Section of the Army. The collection also includes newspaper clippings, military personnel records, itineraries, file notes, a newsletter, a press release, and memorabilia from Japan. Photographs from this collection were transferred to the Audiovisual Collection.

Size: Less than 1 linear foot (about 800 pages)
Access: Open.
Copyright: The donor gave to the U.S. Government all of their copyright interest in these materials and in any other materials received by the U.S. Government and maintained in a depository administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. Documents created by employees of the U.S. Government in the course of their official duties are in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents in the collection presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Brian Jolet (2026).

Allen Schwartz was born on December 9, 1928, in Louisville, Kentucky to Jack and Rebecca (née Barnett) Schwartz. Schwartz graduated from Louisville Male High School in 1946. Following graduation, he attended school at the University of Missouri in Columbia, where he received a Bachelor of Journalism degree in 1950. While in college, Schwartz completed R.O.T.C. training and enlisted in the Army Reserves. Following college, Schwartz was discharged from the Army Reserves and began working in the newspaper advertising field. He worked for both the Louisville Courier Journal and the Louisville Times.

In 1951, Schwartz was drafted into the United States Army during the Korean War. He finished Army General School in August of 1951 and Artillery School in May of 1952. Following his training, he became a Psychological Warfare Officer in the 1st Radio Broadcasting & Leaflet Group of the 8239th Army Unit. He was stationed in Tokyo, Japan during the war. Schwartz served as a First Lieutenant at the time of his separation from the Army in March of 1953.

Following the Korean War, Schwartz moved to New York City, where he continued to work in advertising. He married Rita Schwartz (née Itkin) on December 30, 1962. Schwartz died in New York City on November 5, 2002.

The papers of Allen Schwartz contain materials from his military service during the Korean War. The collection is composed of leaflets and loose news sheets created during the war. Each leaflet and news sheet includes a summary and translation composed by the Psychological Warfare Section of the Army. The leaflets and news sheets targeted Chinese and North Korean troops and encouraged desertion and defection. All the leaflets and news sheets are written in Korean or Chinese. The collection includes Schwartz’s military personnel records, file notes, itineraries, newspaper clippings, and a copy of the Proper Gander newsletter. The collection also contains memorabilia items collected by Schwartz. Photographs from the collection have been transferred to the Audiovisual Collection.

Related collections at the Truman Library include the Korean War Collection, the Korean War National Museum Records, the Records of the Center for the Study of the Korean War, the Harry L. Davis Papers, the Rex W. Edwards Papers, the Holden C. Johnson Papers, the Edward B. LeMaster Papers, the Kenneth H. Ashworth Papers, the Fred G. McCormick Papers, and the James T. Quirk Papers.