Terrence P. Allen

Rank: Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps

Unit: 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

Hometown: Pennsauken, New Jersey (born Marlton)

Died: September 15, 2007, Al Anbar Province, Iraq (non-hostile incident, under investigation)

Buried: Lakeview Memorial Park, Cinnaminson, New Jersey

Awards: Purple Heart

Corporal Terrence P. “Terry” Allen, 21, of Pennsauken, died September 15, 2007, in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, in a non-hostile incident. He was near an air base awaiting his return to the United States — his second tour of duty in Iraq was scheduled to end the following week — when he was found dead from a single gunshot wound to the head; the incident remained under investigation. He was a 2004 graduate of Bishop Eustace Preparatory School in Pennsauken, where he was an honor student and played football and ran track. He enlisted in the Marines during his senior year and served in two combat tours in Iraq, receiving the Purple Heart during the first. He had re-enlisted for another four years while deployed and received word he would be promoted to sergeant in January and assigned as a training officer at Camp Lejeune. He is survived by his wife, Catherine G. (nee Glessing) Allen; his parents, John N. and Connie L. (nee Parke) Allen of Pennsauken; his sister, Shannon L. Allen; and his grandmother, Gertrude E. Allen.

By Leo Strupczewski

His second tour of duty was nearly complete when he called Friday.

For Terry Allen, his time in Iraq was scheduled to end Tuesday and the infantryman was away from the combat, biding his time in Al Anbar Province before heading back to the United States on a secure air base that is used to shuttle troops to Kuwait.

It brought comfort to his parents, John and Connie Allen of Pennsauken, when their son called. Because when this tour started, they rarely heard from him. The combat seemed rough. The calls were short. And the letters were few. Recently though, contact was picking up.

In the last week, John Allen spoke with his son three times.

“We really thought we were in the clear,” he said. “We were thrilled. He was actually able to have a conversation.”

But hours after getting off the telephone with his mother Friday, officials said Terry Allen was found dead. A single bullet, likely from a sniper, hit him in the head. The Marine corporal and Pennsauken resident was 21.

John Allen remembers his son’s decision to join the Marines as a bit of a shock.

In 2004, Terry Allen was a senior at Bishop Eustace Preparatory School and enlisted that January. He went through the Marines’ delayed entry program, spending the remaining months of high school training with his recruiting officer and preparing himself for what was ahead.

He was an honor student, played football and ran track at the private high school and his parents were hopeful he would choose to attend college. They persuaded him to look at the military academies, John Allen said, but something clicked in his son’s mind and he decided enlisting was the only option.

“As a younger kid, he had an interest, but it really spiked when he hit the high school level,” John Allen said. “We were thinking he would go the college route, but he said, ‘I can do that in the military.’ … He was almost looking forward to boot camp.”

A former football teammate used words like “serious,” “honest” and “straightforward” to describe him.

They were qualities that brought success.

During his freshman year at Bishop Eustace, he was knocked unconscious by an opposing player from Cherry Hill High School East as he went to make a catch. He broke his hand his sophomore year, but had a cast put on and didn’t miss a practice or game.

“He was one of those kids that did everything you asked of him. The weight room, off-season workouts, he was a consummate team player,” said Terry Allen’s head football coach Tim McAneney. “He was intense, focused and driven. I mean, I’m a Eustace alum and I’m proud he’s a kid I could call a fellow alum.”

As a Marine, he was rising through the ranks. While deployed, Terry Allen re-enlisted for another four years and received word he would be promoted to sergeant in January. The promotion brought a new job training officer on a firing range at Camp LeJeune in North Carolina.

“We were thrilled,” his father said. “(The combat) was always a concern of ours. He said (the new position) was non-deployable for awhile.”

John Allen said his son was beginning to plan for life as a Marine. In a phone call on Wednesday morning, the two discussed financial options. Terry Allen was planning to get a place of his own at Camp LeJeune, rather than live in the barracks.

But before all that, he planned to visit home.

The “couple-week” visit was scheduled to begin Sept. 27 and family was beginning to make plans.

Father and son were to head to a local restaurant to watch Terry Allen’s favorite football team, the Miami Dolphins, play the Oakland Raiders on a Sunday afternoon. A nice dinner was in the works. And when word broke last week about fellow Marine Jon T. Hicks, an Atco resident, dying in combat, the Allens focused on Tuesday.

“It was on everyone’s minds,” John Allen said. “We thought about how lucky we were he was coming home.”

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Cpl. Terrence P. Allen, 21, of Pennsauken, N.J., died Sept. 15 from a non-hostile incident in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

The incident is under investigation.

A Pennsauken Marine who lost his life in Iraq last week died in a “nonhostile incident,” military officials said Monday.

The family of Cpl. Terrence P. Allen, 21, who was shot once in the head, initially said he may have been the victim of a sniper at a military air base in Anbar province. Details were not available Monday.

“It wasn’t in a combat situation,” the Marine’s father, John Allen, said Monday. “Our final conclusion is it’s not going to change the outcome. We just choose to remember this kid as a Marine who served two combat tours in Iraq.”

He was due to return home from Iraq today.

Age 21 years on September 15, 2007 in Iraq, of Pennsauken, NJ. Born in Marlton, NJ.

Beloved son of John N. and Connie L. (nee Parke) Allen. Dear brother of Shannon L. Allen and loving grandson of Gertrude E. Allen. Also survived by his wife Catherine G. (nee Glessing) Allen and many friends.

Terry served our country in the United States Marine Corps. He was a graduate of Bishop Eustace Prep School, Cherry Hill, NJ where he was a member of the varsity football team and the varsity track team.

His service in celebration of his life will be 11AM Saturday at the Stephenson-Brown Funeral Home, 33 West Maple Avenue, Merchantville, NJ where his family will receive friends beginning 10am. No evening visitation. Interment Lakeview Memorial Park, Cinnaminson, NJ. Memorial contributions made to Bishop Eustace Prep School, 5552 Route 70, Pennsauken, NJ 08109 would be greatly appreciated by the family.

By Leo Strupczewski

MERCHANTVILLE — As two Marines draped an American flag over Cpl. Terrence Allen’s casket, those at St. Peter Roman Catholic Church began singing “God Bless America.”

It started slowly, led by an organist and the Rev. Anthony Manuppella, the church’s pastor. But it gradually grew louder and the sound was matched only by those who were crying.

“The soldier called upon to sacrifice his life for his country is the noblest development of mankind,” Manuppella said during his eulogy, quoting famed Army general Douglas MacArthur. “Let us open our minds, hearts and souls as Jesus heals us.”

Marines in dress blues sat at the back of the church. Young men in Bishop Eustace Preparatory School football jerseys sat in the front. Between them were hundreds of family members and friends. Nearly all in attendance arrived before the 11 a.m. start of Allen’s funeral and most wore yellow ribbons.

The 21-year-old Pennsauken resident died in a “nonhostile incident” in Al Anbar province, Iraq, on Sept. 15, according to the Department of Defense. That incident is under investigation, officials said. Allen, who was assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp LeJeune, N.C., was scheduled to return home from Iraq last Tuesday, his family said.

Allen was remembered Saturday as a hard-working man, faithful to his family and his country. He was blessed with an “infectious laugh” and “ambition,” Manuppella said.

During an earlier tour of duty in Iraq, Allen was awarded the Purple Heart. He had re-enlisted for another four years while in Iraq and received word he would be promoted to sergeant in January. After returning home, he would become a training officer on a firing range at Camp LeJeune.

“He was willing to take a risk,” the pastor continued.

Allen’s father, John Allen, has previously said his son decided to join the Marines during his senior year of high school.

“As a younger kid, he had an interest,” John Allen said. “We were thinking he would go the college route, but he said, ‘I can do that in the military.’ … He was almost looking forward to boot camp.”

Those who played football with him at Bishop Eustace recalled his smile and focus. A group of former teammates recalled one play he made which, they said, changed their season.

He made the biggest hit of the game early in his freshman year. And though he never mentioned it, “the coaches reminded us,” said Charles Sessa.

Added Greg Piateck: “He became famous.”

Outside the church, 50 motorcyclists from the nationally-based Patriot Guard Riders lined the walkway with American flags. A ladder truck from the Merchantville Fire Department flew a large flag over Maple Avenue.