Allen Lloyd was easily one of the most likable men at CCN. He was one of the truly good people that you can never forget. Allen had already served one tour as a radio operator for one of the Mobile Launch Teams. He had extended for six months to run recon missions. Allen had considered making the military a career but, his inclination was to head home to Minnesota. He only had two months left on this tour then, he was going home to stay.
Allen had a way of making the most mundane and uninteresting events, funny and fascinating. He told me once about artificially inseminating turkeys. Instead of sounding like some silly school documentary, his description was spellbinding and funny. That's the way it always is, with people like Allen Lloyd. They always make you feel good just by being near them. A real personable guy.
Whenever GI's get to know each other very well, they eventually get around to talking about their futures. Allen had some good, solid plans for his and they all revolved around his family. Allen had a deep love for his family and his home town. He was going home in two more months and he was going to make his future there. Good, solid, down to earth plans and he was just two months away from starting them. He had the optimism of youth. He was twenty two and everything was okay.
Good people like Allen deserve to have a good life. We need more people in the world like him. They don't deserve an unmarked resting place, ten thousand miles and just two months away from their "life".
Allen died on the side of a mountain. Enemy pressure kept us from recovering his body and sending him home. Just two, short, months from going home! Sometimes, two, short, months can be a lifetime.