Army Pvt. Thomas C. Allers

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pvt. Thomas C. Allers, 23, of Plainwell, Mich.

Pvt Allers was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; died May 23, 2011, in Kunar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Pvt. Andrew M. Krippner, Pfc. William S. Blevins and Staff Sgt. Kristofferson B. Lorenzo.

Pvt Allers graduated Plainwell High School in 2006. This was his first deployment and he had only been in Afghanistan for a few weeks.

Pvt Allers was described as sweet-natured, a great kid, who went fishing with his parents.

Allers was an only child who was very close to his parents. “They just did everything together,” said family friend Tammy Austin, who knew Allers since he was a little boy. “He was a great kid, very sweet.” She added that Allers's mother was very fearful when her son left for Afghanistan. “I can just remember how shaky she was,” said Austin, as she stood in front of the Allers’ empty yellow house off a dirt road outside the city of Plainwell. “What is she going to do now? He was her only child.”

Friend Tom Matusiak says Allers was a generous friend who loved golf. Pictures show the two went golfing often as kids. “We had fun golfing,” said Matusiak. “He was better than me, but that's not saying much.”

Matusiak added that Allers had a positive attitude about his deployment. “He was really pumped about it you know. When he was going over there, he didn't want anyone to worry about him." said Matusiak. "I think the last thing he said to me was, I got a slap on the shoulder and he said, 'Hey, I'll be back.'" Now Matusiak says everyone is feeling the loss. “It's hit a lot of people really hard.”

The Thomas Allers Memorial Fund has been established at First Community Federal Credit Union. "The close-knit community of Plainwell often comes together in times of both joy and in this case, sorrow," a news release from the city of Plainwell said. "The Memorial Fund is one way one Plainwell community members can pay tribute to the deceased and his family."

On Tuesday night, there was a candlelight vigil at the Veterans Memorial in Plainwell.

Pvt Allers awards include:

National Defense Service Medal
Global War on Terrorism Medal, National Defense Service Medal
Army Service Ribbon
Combat Infantryman’s Badge
Purple Heart
Overseas Service Ribbon

Pvt Allers is survived by his parents, Denise and Lance.

Army Pvt. Thomas C. Allers was killed in action on 5/23/11.