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Captain Allen B. Clark, Jr., USA (ret.) “graduated the United States Military
Academy in 1963, after which he was commissioned in the Army Corps of Engineers. Two years after graduation
from West Point, he volunteered for a tour in Vietnam where he served as a Military Intelligence officer assigned to the Fifth
Special Forces Group. Allen sustained injuries in an early-morning mortar attack at the Dak To Special
Forces camp on June 17, 1967, that necessitated the amputation of both legs below his knees. His military
service and sacrifice were recognized with receipt of a Silver Star for Gallantry in Action, the Purple Heart, and the Combat
Infantryman's Badge. He was airborne-qualified.
While learning to adjust to his
disability and to walk on prosthetic legs, he obtained an MBA in finance and investments from Southern Methodist University
in Dallas, Texas. Allen's first post-graduate position was as an investment manager for Ross Perot.
His other private sector experience has spanned 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.” Captain Allen B. Clark, Jr., is the author of Wounded Soldier, Healing Warrior: A Personal
Story of a Vietnam Veteran Who Lost His Legs but Found His Soul.
According to the book description of
Wounded Soldier, Healing Warrior: A Personal Story of a Vietnam Veteran Who Lost His Legs but Found His Soul,
“It was early morning, June 17, 1967, and Dak To Special Forces camp in Vietnam was under attack. A mortar exploded,
and West Point graduate Allen B. Clark’s life was changed forever. This is the story of how one soldier, so gravely
injured that both of his legs were amputated, turned his grievous loss into a personal triumph. Clark describes his struggle
through a year-long recovery and a severe bout of post traumatic stress disorder, so little understood at the time. He tells
of earning his MBA from Southern Methodist University and finding employment as a personal financial assistant to Ross Perot,
of moving on to public service and founding the Combat Faith Ministry, a lay ministry to veterans. Clark's story of growth
and spiritual fulfillment wrested from his wartime tragedy is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and is of
special relevance in our day of so many soldiers returning wounded in body and spirit from Iraq.
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