American soldier dies 10 years after he was paralyzed when he was shot in the head in Afghanistan searching for Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl
- National Guard Master Sergeant Mark Allen died in Georgia on Saturday at the age of 46
- He was shot in the head by a sniper in Afghanistan in 2009 looking for Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl
- Allen suffered severe brain trauma as a result of the attack and spent the past decade unable to talk and was paralyzed over much of his body
- His wife Shannon Allen revealed news of his death on Facebook as she posted details of his funeral
- His exact cause of death is not yet known
A former American soldier has died 10 years after he was left paralyzed when he was shot in the head while searching for Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl in Afghanistan.
National Guard Master Sergeant Mark Allen died in Georgia on Saturday at the age of 46.
He was shot in the head by a sniper in an insurgent ambush while he was carrying out a search mission for Bergdahl after he walked off his post in Afghanistan in 2009.
Allen suffered severe brain trauma as a result of the attack and spent the past decade unable to talk and was paralyzed over much of his body.
National Guard Master Sergeant Mark Allen died in Georgia on Saturday at the age of 46. He was shot in the head by a sniper in Afghanistan in 2009 looking for Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl
National Guard Master Sergeant Mark Allen died in Georgia on Saturday at the age of 46. He is pictured above with his wife Shannon and their daughter
His wife Shannon Allen revealed news of his death on Facebook as she posted details of his funeral.
His exact cause of death is not yet known.
Allen’s wife testified during Bergdahl’s trial in 2017 after he pleaded guilty to charges that he endangered his military comrades when he walked off his post in Afghanistan.
Instead of a prison sentence, Bergdahl was reduced in rank, fined and then honorably discharged.
He was facing up to life in prison.
Allen’s wife sat crying in the courtroom the day Bergdahl pleaded guilty.
Bergdahl was held by the Taliban for five years after walking off his post. He was eventually released in a 2014 prisoner swap orchestrated by Barack Obama
Allen suffered severe brain trauma as a result of the attack and spent the past decade unable to talk and was paralyzed over much of his body
She had testified during the trial about her husband’s brain injury and the effect it had on their young daughter who was only an infant when he was wounded.
Shannon said her husband was never able to reach out and hold her because of his paralysis.
After walking off his post, Bergdahl was held by the Taliban for five years before eventually being released in a 2014 prisoner swap criticized by Republicans.
President Donald Trump has previously called Bergdahl a traitor for abandoning his post.
Bergdahl said he was caged, kept in darkness and beaten, and tried to escape more than a dozen times before President Barack Obama brought him home in 2014 in a swap for five Taliban prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
His wife Shannon Allen revealed news of his death on Facebook as she posted details of his funeral. His exact cause of death is not yet known
Allen’s wife testified during Bergdahl’s trial in 2017 after he pleaded guilty to charges that he endangered his military comrades when he walked off his post in Afghanistan