Wounded Soldier, Healing Warrior
Posted in: Combat Trauma/PTSD
“Oh God, I’m dead!”
Allen Clark graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1963. He volunteered for a tour in Vietnam where he sustained injuries in a mortar attack that necessitated the amputation of both legs below his knees. For his military service, he received the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.
“For some of us, it takes tremendous trials and trauma in life before we finally begin examining ourselves so we can try to sort out what life really means. This became such a time for me. As I completed treatment, and my soul began to heal along with my body, I also began to realize that it took being an embattled soldier — a wounded warrior — for me to fully understand the spiritual battle being waged on all battle fronts daily all over the world.” – Allen Clark, “Wounded Soldier, Healing Warrior,” page 177
About Allen Clark
While learning to adjust to his disability and to walk on prosthetic legs, he obtained an MBA in finance and investments and went on to a successful management career in oil and gas exploration, real estate marketing, and mortgage lending. He has been vice president of a bank, president of three oil service companies, and co-founder of a real estate investment company in Texas.
Allen’s public sector career began with an appointment in 1979 as the Special Assistant for Administration to Texas Governor William P. Clements, Jr. In 1981, Allen was President Ronald Reagan’s selection to be Deputy Administrator for the Veterans Administration (now the Department of Veterans Affairs). In 1989, he was nominated by President George H.W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Assistant Secretary for Veterans Liaison and Program Coordination at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In 1991, he received his second VA confirmation as Director of the National Cemetery System, a position in which he served until the end of the Bush Administration.
He retired in 2005 as the Public Affairs Officer for the VA North Texas Health Care System in Dallas, Texas. His current lay ministry is involved in outreach efforts to help veterans recover emotionally and spiritually from adverse wartime experiences. “Wounded Soldier, Healing Warrior” – Allen’s autobiography – was published in early 2007 by Zenith Press.
Visit Allen Clark’s website at www.combatfaith.com.
“There are a host of heroes to whom this country owes a debt it can never repay. Allen Clark lost both his legs while serving his country in Vietnam. When he came home, his body was broken, but his spirit never faltered. He went back to school. He earned his masters degree in business administration. He served his state in a high government post and is now a successful businessman. He’s an inspiration to all who know him.”– President Ronald Reagan