By MELANIE POOLE / Special to the Reporter

The Veteran of the Week is sponsored by the National Veterans Shrine and Register of Honor at the American Village — honoring America’s veterans and telling the stories of their service and sacrifice for the cause of liberty.

“The American Village is pleased to join the Shelby County Reporter in recognizing Master Sergeant Lloyd Talmadge Allen as Veteran of the Week,” American Village founder and CEO Tom Walker said. “He is representative of the hundreds of thousands of Alabamians who have risked it all for the sake of our country and its freedom. To all veterans we owe a debt we can never fully repay.”

Visit the website, Veteransregisterofhonor.com, today and add your loved ones to the Register of Honor. Help us honor, recognize, respect and remember our country’s veterans.

Here are highlights about this week’s Veteran of the Week. Master Sergeant Lloyd Talmadge Allen: Born in Marvel, Alabama in 1928, Lloyd called Montevallo home. He served in the United States Air Force with honor for 22 1/2 years. Lloyd loved his family, airplanes and his country. His service included the Berlin Airlift, the Korean War, and Vietnam War. He was a member of the Air Force Strategic Air Command, with top security clearance. Lloyd loved all sports. He was sports editor on his high school newspaper and a member of the basketball team. He was married to Janette Boothe for 60 years. They had two daughters, one granddaughter and one great grandson. Master Sergeant Allen served proudly in Germany, Japan, Okinawa and the United States. He enjoyed travel, Bluegrass music, fishing, and hunting. A kind and loving man, respected and honored by family and many friends, Master Sergeant Allen died in 2013, and is buried at the Alabama National Cemetery in Montevallo.