Soldier dies during training in Iraq

The new mission lasted less than a week. The 24-year-old from Pittsfield had a heart attack on Dec. 18 during physical training, his mother said yesterday.

"He was a good boy who wanted to serve his country," said his mother, Vanessa Allison. "He felt he was there to protect his family and to do his duty."

Although Allison had only a month at home between missions, he had enough time to escort his sister, Jons Allison-Cardoso, at her wedding on the day after Thanksgiving, his mother said.

"He is my only brother, and our mother raised us alone, so he gave me away at my wedding," Allison-Cardoso told the Associated Press. "We'll always have that."

Allison's mother said she was perplexed by the cause of death because she believed her son was in excellent health. He had been sickened recently by shots he was required to take before entering Iraq, and she wondered if they played a role in his death.

In addition to his mother and sister, Allison leaves a 7-year-old daughter, Kaleigh. "He loved her very much," his mother said.

Allison served as an infantryman in the 10th Mountain Division, which is based at Fort Drum, N.Y., where he spent much of the past month training before leaving. The soldier grew up in Pittsfield and joined the Army at age 17, just after graduating from Pittsfield High School in 1997, his mother said.

"He always wanted to be in the Army," his mother said. "Since he was 5 years old, all it was, was Army, Army, Army."

A football player in high school who enjoyed rap music and video games, he saw the Army as an opportunity to see the world and serve his country, his mother said. Over the years, she said, he won many commendations and awards for good service, including the Bronze Star.

In May, he was promoted to sergeant. Allison last spoke to her son a week ago, just after he had arrived in Iraq. He was a bit nervous, she said he acknowledged, but he didn't want anyone to worry.

"He said he loved me," Allison said. "He said, `I'll be all right, Ma. I know what I have to do.' "

A funeral service is planned for Saturday at the Dery Funeral Home in Pittsfield, his mother said. He will be buried afterward in Pittsfield Cemetery.