Georgia: Fallen soldier remembered for love of life

Slideshow: Soldier's funeral

ROME, Ga. — Army Sgt. William Elliott Allmon didn’t just take the lead in convoys on the streets of Baghdad, he also dove right into the lives of his children and family when he was home.

“When it was diaper-changing time, he dug in there,” said J.W. Deboard, a Lindale, Ga., resident whose family was close to Sgt. Allmon after he married his wife Jennifer, a Summerville, Ga., resident, about five years ago.

Sgt. Allmon, 25 and a Floyd County native, was remembered by about 100 friends, family and colleagues Tuesday afternoon at a funeral service with full military honors. He was killed April 12 in Baghdad when his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device. A combat engineer, he was less than three months away from the end of his second deployment to Iraq with a unit from Fort Stewart, Ga.

Sgt. Allmon leaves behind his wife, their son, Damien, 3, and stepson, Jason “Luke” Johnshon, 11. Mrs. Allmon and the boys moved to Summerville from Fort Stewart earlier this year so they could be closer to Mrs. Allmon’s family during the 15-month deployment, friends said.

Sgt. Allmon’s father, William Allmon, is from Cartersville, Ga.

“He loved life and his children,” said his mother, Donna Fortune, before the funeral services at Pleasant Valley South Baptist Church. “He certainly molded me. He was my whole purpose, just my reason for going on.”

With his “beautiful red hair” and “prankster” tendencies, Sgt. Allmon “never lost the little boy,” his mother said. That included the times when, in exchange for beer, he would offer fellow soldiers a dance with his mother at a bar near Fort Stewart.

“It was hilarious,” Ms. Fortune said. “We had a unique relationship.”

In 2003, he joined the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.

In his unit, the “Raw Dogs,” he was known affectionately as Red-headed Stepchild by his best friends, who are still deployed in Iraq and due back in July. His first deployment was from January 2005 to January 2006.

“If you didn’t know him, you missed out on a lot,” wrote Sgt. Richard White in a letter read tearfully by his wife, Michelle White, during the funeral service. “You are not only my best friend; you are my brother.”

The reality of losing Sgt. Allmon still hasn’t “sunk in,” Mrs. White said after graveside services Tuesday at Floyd Memory Gardens. Two days after helping pull Sgt. Allmon and another severely injured soldier out of the exploded vehicle, her husband re-enlisted for six more years, she said.

Coping with the loss of a soldier in war helps bring a community together, said Jan Johnson of Lyerly, Ga., who lost her son four years ago and now serves as a mentor for Gold Star Mothers, an organization to help families of soldiers killed in combat. Her son, Army Spc. Justin Johnson, was the first soldier with Floyd County ties to die in the war. Sgt. Allmon was the second.

“I just went through my son’s fourth anniversary April 10,” said Ms. Johnson, whose daughter is friends with Mrs. Allmon. “Will being killed two days later brought it back.”

Dozens of Patriot Guard Riders arrived on motorcycles to help shield the family with American flags from unwanted attention. The force was split Tuesday, though, because of a funeral for a Marine in Athens, Ga., Ms. Johnson said.

Maj. Gen. Jerome Johnson drove up from Fort McPherson, Ga., to meet with the family and award Sgt. Allmon the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and the rank of sergeant. Maj. Gen. Johnson, who has attended the funerals of soldiers fallen in combat for five years, said Sgt. Allmon’s family and community “understand the war better” than others he’s seen.

“They’re able to distinguish support of the military and soldiers from their political thoughts on the war,” Maj. Gen. Johnson said.

Ms. Fortune said she has “no regrets” about her son’s decision to sign up for the National Guard in 2000 in Texas and go on to serve on active duty in 2002.

“Everybody has a purpose on earth, and evidently his purpose was served,” she said. “He’s a hero to me.”

Memorial contributions can be made to the Allmon College Fund at any United Community Bank.