|
Former Monroe resident dies in Iraq
Published November 22, 2006
MONROE — A former Walton County resident died in Iraq on Nov. 13 after a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle.
Pfc. Daniel Joseph Allman II, 20, died of injuries following the detonation of an improvised explosive device as he and his battalion patrolled Baghdad. Pfc. Jang H. Kim, 20, of Placentia, Calif., also died in the blast. Two others were injured.
Allman grew up in Walton County, attending local schools through middle school before moving to Franklin County with his mother, Amanda Reese, and younger brother. There he graduated from Franklin County High School and immediately enlisted in the military.
“He had wanted to be in the military since he was little,” said Dick Allman, of Monroe, Daniel’s grandfather.
“When he graduated he was going to go into the army,” Dick Allman said.
Allman’s family, including Dick and Sandy Allman, as well as his maternal grandparents, Robert and Sara Smith, of Campton, and the rest of his extended family, have taken the news to heart.
“Growing up, he was always spending time with his cousins, they were like brothers and sisters,” Dick Allman said. “All his cousins are just in shock. He was always just happy and laughing, very upbeat all the time.
“He was just well-loved by everybody.”
Allman was supposed to have flown home Sunday for leave, but instead returned to the United State Air Force Base in Dover, Del. from where his body will be sent to Franklin County for the funeral in Royston.
“He was going to be home for Thanksgiving,” Dick Allman said, who said the reaction to Daniel’s death has been hard on the entire family. “It’s been like a rollercoaster, just up and down all the time. Everybody can’t believe anything.”
Daniel Joseph Allman II is survived by a daughter, Haleigh, 2, as well as his father, Daniel Allman, Sr., of Winder, his mother Amanda Reese, of Franklin County, and his younger brother, as well as his extended family in Walton County.
For that family, Daniel Allman will continue to live in their hearts.
“We all just think of him as our hero now,” Dick Allman said.
Share |
Save |
Mail |
Print
|
