Brian D. Allgood

Died: January 20, 2007

Rank: Colonel

Unit: Multi-National Force-Iraq

Branch: U.S. Army

On January 20, 2007, Army Colonel Brian Duane Allgood, the Command Surgeon, Multi-National Force-Iraq, turned over a new American-built hospital to the people of Taji as part of an ongoing effort to rebuild the entire Iraqi health care system. On the return flight to Camp Victory in Baghdad, the Arkansas Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter carrying Allgood and 11 other Soldiers was hit by a surface-to-air missile near the insurgent stronghold of Baqubah and crashed in Diyala Province northeast of Baghdad. All 12 Soldiers on board perished. The most senior Army medical officer yet to die in Operation Iraq Freedom, Allgood had been in this demanding post since July 2006. His future in the Army Medical Department seemed to be exceptionally bright, and he had been selected to assume command of the 30th Medical Brigade in Germany in the summer of 2007.