HE SURVIVED THE BATTLEFIELD… BUT CARRIED ITS WOUNDS FOR 10 YEARS
HE SURVIVED THE BATTLEFIELD… BUT CARRIED ITS WOUNDS FOR 10 YEARS
On July 8, 2009, Sgt. 1st Class Mark Allen went into Afghanistan searching for a missing American soldier.
He never knew that mission would change the rest of his life.
During the search for Bowe Bergdahl, Allen’s unit came under heavy attack.
Mark suffered a devastating brain injury.
He survived—but he could no longer walk or speak.
For more than three years, he remained in hospitals before finally returning home to Georgia, where he needed constant care.
Mark had already dedicated more than two decades to the Army and Georgia National Guard. He had volunteered for the deployment, served his country, and ultimately retired as a Master Sergeant.
He was awarded the Purple Heart for the wounds he suffered. 
But the battle didn’t end when he left Afghanistan.
For another decade, Mark lived with the consequences of that day.
On October 12, 2019, he passed away at just 46 years old from complications related to his injuries.
He survived the battlefield.
But the battlefield never truly left him.
Today, his name is remembered by the Georgia National Guard among its fallen soldiers.
Some sacrifices don’t end when the fighting stops.
They follow service members home, shaping every day that comes after.
