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Washington Medical Facility Celebrates Fallen Soldier With Nashua Ties

In October, Nashua resident Dave Allen took a trip to Joint Base Lewis, McChord, Wash., to be a part of the Oct. 8 re-naming ceremony of the Allen Solider-Centered Medical Home at the base. The Medical Home was renamed in honor of Allen's son, Staff Sgt. Charles Allen who passed away from wounds he sustained while conducting combat operations in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 4, 2007. The medical facility will offer soldiers a place for physical therapy, basic first aid and regular doctor visits.

The process of renaming the medical clinic was 12 years in the making and D. Allen was certainly surprised at how many people attended the ceremony and in the ceremony itself. "The ceremony was held in front of the building. The ceremony and the building itself was bigger than I had ever thought. It was not at all what I was envisioning it would look like. I also hadn't realized they would name the entire clinic after him and all of the things that were going to be going on in the building. I had thought they would just name a room after him," explained Allen.

Sgt. First Class Adam Schwartz, who served with Staff Sgt. Allen in Iraq, spent the last five years helping get the clinic renamed after Allen. "When he was killed we didn't have a lot of time to mourn. We went right back to work. Twelve years later, for us, it's closure," Sgt. First Class Schwartz told Seattle, Wash., King5 News in October.

Staff Sgt. Allen had volunteered to replace a line medic on patrol on Jan. 4, 2007. As the patrol was returning to base, he was providing security from the rear hatch of his Stryker vehicle when he was killed by sniper fire. He was the only combat medic killed in action with the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. He was posthumously promoted to staff sergeant, awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal and Iraqi Campaign Medal.

Being at the ceremony was certainly a nice surprise for D. Allen as when Staff Sgt. Allen first passed away, D. Allen had heard something was going to be done to memorialize his son, but as time went on, no further information was provided to him.

"It was only about three months leading up to the event that I started getting e-mails and information on the ceremony. The ceremony was certainly bittersweet, however my son was where he wanted to be and doing what he wanted to do. I appreciate the fact they thought of him like that," explained Allen. "It was certainly helpful to see those who served with him, and to hear what they thought of him after all this time. Though if my son would have seen this ceremony, he would have said 'Let's get out of here. We have sick people to take care of.' He wouldn't have thought of this to be such a big deal."

As a United States Army combat medic, Staff Sgt. Allen had always wanted to serve his country. "Since he was five years old he had always wanted to join the Army. He never wavered from that goal," stated D. Allen. As a high-schooler, he participated in the ROTC program and graduated from Colony High School in Palmer, Alaska. On his time off, he enjoyed being outdoors, hunting and fishing, which led the Allens to visit Northeast Montana on vacations. After Staff Sgt. Allen's death, D. Allen decided to make Nashua home. "We spent a lot of time together here. I have really good memories and the most fun we had was in this area. It helps being here and having the local memories," D. Allen told the Courier.

In addition to his father, he is survived by his mother, Kathy West, his wife, Kerensa, son Orion, and other family, friends and members of his units.

 

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