Brian D. Allgood

West Point, 1982

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Bill Atkinson on February 17, 2009:

I actually wrote this about a year-and-a-half ago but never got around to posting it. I share it because Brian was a good friend and someone who left a lasting, positive impact on those around him. *** Brian and I were company mates at West Point. His passing is a tremendous loss, in so many ways. I wish I had the words to express my sorrow and the emptiness that I feel. Yet, every time I think about Brian, I remember that I always enjoyed being around him - whether it was working together or just hanging out. I always had a good time with Brian and my fondest memories always take me back to our participation in Sandhurst. In the spring of 1979 (Brian's plebe year and my yearling year), our company (I-1) came in last place in the Sandhurst competition - 36th out of 36 companies. (Note that, to the best of my recollection, neither Brian nor I were on a Sandhurst team that year - not that it matters.) The sting of doing so poorly was compounded because West Point cadets are, generally, extremely competitive. Plus, we were in First Regiment - "The Military Regiment" - and we had failed in the premiere military competition at USMA. To improve our results, the following year, our tactical officer (MAJ Jeffreys) began recruiting cadets from the company and forming Sandhurst teams long before the competition began. Those of us on these teams trained together a lot - some times giving up our precious free time on the weekends. Brian and I ended up on a four-man team led by Bob Wills (USMA '80); there was also a plebe on our team, but I don't remember his name. When Bob broke us down into our two-man teams, he put Brian and me together. It was a good fit, as we got along very well and worked together well as battle buddies - then again, just about everybody got along and worked well with Brian. The one event that I remember the most was firing at pop-up targets on the rifle range. Brian was a much better marksman that I, so we split the targets - he would fire at the ones furthest away and I would take the ones closer in. We would watch for the targets to pop-up and then yell "Yours" or "Mine," as appropriate. We scored 39 out of a possible 40 points. Our only blemish was that, once, Brian had to take two shots to hit the target furthest away. He was so bummed and felt like he let me down. But I totally disagreed with him. We had a great score and he had tackled the hardest task. I told him that if he had not agreed to shoot at the furthest targets, there was no way that we would have done as well. After a little consoling, I finally got him to agree that we had done alright. As the competition continued, I-1 did extremely well - much to everyone else's surprise. Every week, we had two or three teams at the top among all the First Regiment teams. And we consistently had at least one team (to include the team that Brian and I were a part of) place well against all the teams at West Point. In the end, as I recall, I-1 finished among the top six teams (and the difference between one and six was very small). It was definitely a lot better than finishing in last place! And Brian and I were proud to be a part of the big turn-around. The next year, in order to duplicate our success, our new tactical officer (MAJ McKean) decided to follow the same pattern. Since I was a senior and had competed in Sandhurst the year before, MAJ McKean "asked" me if I would participate again. I told him that I would. The very next words out of my mouth were, "And I want Brian Allgood on my team" - probably the smartest thing I ever did as a cadet. Once we had our four-man team, I had intended to pair us up like we were the year before - firstie/plebe and cow/yearling. However, Brian thought that it would be better if he worked with the plebe (Jerry Towe) and I teamed-up with the yearling (Bob Carman). He did not have to say much, just suggest it once, and I was convinced - this was probably the second smartest thing that I did as a cadet. I don't recall the details that much, but I know that our team did well. What I remember the most is the chemistry that we had on our team - as a whole, as two-man teams and, particularly, between Brian and me. As the senior ranking cadet on the team, I was the de facto "team captain." But, in reality, I was a co-captain with Brian. He and I would have skull sessions on our team training. If he agreed with me, I was convinced that we were doing the right thing. And any time he had a different idea or an opinion, he would calmly detail his point of view. He would almost always pose it in a way where I had to make the final decision - like, "Don't you think that it would be better if we ..." and I always went with his idea, 100% of the time. It was typical of Brian. Always the diplomat. Always the team player. Always the servant leader. And, for Sandhurst, always right. His attitude and his performance spilled over to the rest of us - it made us better as a team and it made us better as individuals. After I graduated in 1981, I lost touch with Brian. That is until 25 years later. In May 2006, I had to coordinate with the Commanding General of Eighth Army. In response to a question concerning medical care in Korea, LTG Valcourt wrote, "...our Doc here COL Brian Allgood can give a better read." Just seeing Brian's name made me smile and gave me a lot of comfort. I knew that I was in good hands and I was glad to reconnect with an old friend. It's funny how certain things stick in our memories, because when Brian first emailed me, he wrote, "I told LTG Valcourt that in addition to being Company mates, we were Sandhurst partners as well." As we exchanged emails, we discussed the official business at hand (and, as expected, Brian provided great insight) and we caught up on 25 years worth of news. At one point, I told Brian, "I run into a number of I-1ers from time-to-time. I see Ed Jozwiak and Mark Averill a lot in the Pentagon and keep in touch with Joe Myers and Steve Wilkins. We had some good people in I-1. I can't think of anyone in '81 or '82 that I wouldn't like to see again." To which he replied, "You are right - a lot of great people. I still stay in touch with a lot of my classmates. Jane and I were assigned at West Point for our 20th year - good place to be at that time and a good turn out of I-1ers." Yes, there were a lot of great people in I-1. I considered myself fortunate to be counted among the "Good Dudes of Company I." And I consider myself fortunate to have been friends with Brian - truly one of the very best of the good dudes.

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