Michael Allison

Michael Allison is a United States Marine Corps (USMC) Sergeant, Veteran. He joined the USMC on August 31, 1999. On the morning of September 11, 2001, he was stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. While driving on the base, he received a call from his mother. She asked him if he was okay and proceeded to tell him that the Twin Towers were attacked by terrorists. Allison was shocked, and he immediately began wondering what he could do to help and how he could respond to the attacks.

Allison was later deployed to Fallujah, Iraq. While there, he received the mission for Phantom Fury, which sought to take down the terrorists involved in the attacks on 9/11. During this time, Allison recalls being sent on multiple missions, enduring traumatic events, including being shot at with rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). One day, Allison and his crew were traveling in their humvee when it was hit by a 500-pound vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED). The blast killed several, including his best friend, Salto, who was driving the humvee. Allison put his best friend in a body bag that day. In the blast, Allison lost consciousness, sustained a gash above his eye from shrapnel and an injured shoulder. The incident, and his role in it, earned Allison a Purple Heart.

Reflecting on his time in Iraq, Allison recalls seeing the after-effects of 9/11 through his lived experiences. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and currently brings awareness to the disorder to normalize it. He struggled in his personal life after the military, so much so that he considered taking his own life. But in those dark moments, it was the memory of his fallen brothers who lost their opportunity to carry on that gave him the courage to do so.

He lives his life with honor and pride in having served his country to become a Purple Heart recipient, and he lives in honor of his crew and so many others who had their lives taken on that day and on so many other days in Iraq. “Never Forget” is a phrase that Allison keeps at the forefront of his mind to remind himself why he served in the USMC, and of those he served with and beside. He will never forget their smiles, the tears, the good times – all the times – they had together. Their shared memories are always with him and he will forever love them all.