2013, the book's finished; On September 29, 2010 my brother, Mark Forester, was KIA while fighting
terrorist in Afghanistan. His heroic legacy of being shot down while preparing
to rescue a fallen teammate began long before this tragic day.
An Apache
aviator said of Mark's final battle: ..."I have never witnessed such an act of
heroism in my three years of fighting in combat. I have over 2,700 hours total
time with 1,500 hours of combat time in both Iraq and Afghanistan...JAG 28
continued to advance on the enemy while taking intense enemy fire, and
continuously fired his weapon in an attempt to get to his fallen teammate and
destroy the enemy."
Mark chose to enlist in the Air Force as a Special
Operations Combat Controller after he received his Bachelor’s degree from The
University of Alabama. Because of his above average grades and near-photographic
memory, his Business Finance degree would have done him well. But, he felt a
higher calling; one that put him between us and the enemies bent on our
destruction.
SrA
Mark A. Forester, CCT 21 STS, was killed in action, Sept. 29th, 2010 in
southern Afghanistan.
9/30/2010 - HURLBURT
FIELD, Fla. -- An Air Force Special Operations
Command Combat Controller died Sept. 29 while supporting Operation
Enduring Freedom.
Senior Airman Mark A. Forester, 29, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., was killed
while conducting combat operations with his Special Forces team in
Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan.
He was assigned to the 21st Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Air Force
Base, N.C.
"Mark believed with all his heart in serving his God, his country and
his family," said Maj. Edmund Loughran, 21 STS acting commander. "The
unit mourns his loss, but we could not be more proud of his devotion to
defending what he believed in most."
The United States announced today the death of an airman who was supporting
Operation Enduring Freedom.
Senior
Airman Mark Forester, 29, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., died Sept. 29 in Uruzgan
province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations in the area.
He was assigned to the 21st Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Air Force
Base, N.C.
Forester was assigned to the 21st Special Tactics Squadron at Pope Air Force Base.
According to the Air Force Special Operations Command website, "Mark
believed with all his heart in serving his God, his country and his
family," said Maj. Edmund Loughran, 21 STS acting commander. "The unit
mourns his loss, but we could not be more proud of his devotion to
defending what he believed in most."
The Air Force Times says Forester was a devout Mormon with a close-knit family according to his friend Michael Andrew.
The airman also believed he was put on earth to defend the U.S.
“He
was an unusual combination of characters in that he had this desire to
kill the bad guys, but he was the most compassionate, kind,
mild-mannered person you’d ever meet,” Andrew said.
The 21st
Special Tactics Squadron plans to honor Forester during a memorial
service, but a date and time had not been set by Sept. 30. Maj. Edmund
Loughran, the squadron’s acting commander, said in a news
release that Forester “believed with all his heart in serving
his God, his country and his family.”
“The
unit mourns his loss, but we could not be more proud of his devotion to
defending what he believed in most,” Loughran said.
Forester’s
death in Afghanistan follows those of Senior Airman Daniel R. Sanchez,
a Combat Controller who died Sept. 16 conducting combat operations.
An
Alabama airman has become the service’s fourth fatality in
Iraq and Afghanistan in two weeks.
Senior Airman Mark A.
Forester died in the Uruzgan province Sept. 29 while conducting combat
operations in the area. The 29-year-old worked with the 21st Special
Tactics Squadron of Pope Air Force Base, N.C.
Forester, of
Tuscaloosa, Ala., was a devout Mormon with a close-knit family, said
his friend Michael Andrew. The airman also believed he was put on earth
to defend the U.S.
“He was an unusual
combination of characters in that he had this desire to kill the bad
guys, but he was the most compassionate, kind, mild-mannered person
you’d ever meet”
The 21st Special
Tactics Squadron plans to honor Forester during a memorial service, but
a date and time had not been set by Sept. 30. Maj. Edmund Loughran, the
squadron’s acting commander, said in a news release that
Forester “believed with all his heart in serving his God, his
country and his family.”
“The
unit mourns his loss, but we could not be more proud of his devotion to
defending what he believed in most,” Loughran said.
Forester’s
death in Afghanistan follows those of Senior Airman Daniel R. Sanchez,
a Combat Controller who died Sept. 16 conducting combat operations.
Forester and
Sanchez will be honored during the Walk for the Fallen, an 860-mile
trek beginning Oct. 9 from Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, to Hurlburt
Field, Fla.
The walk originally
commemorated 12 fallen special tactics airmen, but Forester and Sanchez
were added after their deaths. Each of the 15 active-duty airmen
scheduled to participate in the walk will carry 50-pound rucksacks and
batons, each with the name of one of the 14 fallen airmen.
Master Sgt. Kenneth
Huhman, one of
the event’s organizers and chief of the Combat Control
selection
course at Lackland, said deaths often hit home in such a small career
field.
One of the walking
airmen will escort Forester’s remains home, and another was
close to Sanchez. But Huhman said the deaths will help motivate the
airmen honoring fallen colleagues.
“We’re
always going to want to be motivated and remember the guys we
lost,” he said. “The fact we lost them so close to
the walk, it does give a little additional inspiration.”
From Michael Andrew;
First let me say to those of you who read this blog who know Mark, I
apologize to you if this is the first time you are hearing the bad
news.
For the rest of you
who never met him, Mark was one of my very best friends and was
stationed at FOB Cobra in Afghanistan as an Air Force Combat Controller
embedded with a Green Beret unit. I was able to see him immediately
before he left for combat, and had the privilege to do a farewell shoot
with his family before he left.
I
still do not have
all the details of what happened, but my understanding is that Mark and
his unit were ambushed and a terrific gun fight ensued. Mark was struck
in the chest twice and died of his injuries. I was also told that he
died while fighting. Two other members of his squad were also killed.
This is all I know right now.
This image
was taken on Mark's camera the same day he and First Class Calvin
Harrison, (pictured to the left) were killed.
Also, I (Michael
Andrew) have
updated the story of what happened to Mark. There are more details
coming, but it is going to take some time to put together in greater
detail. There is also some vetting rules and confirmation steps that
have to take place, but we do know that Mark was killed while trying to
save a fellow solider, Sgt. First Class Calvin Harrison, a Special
Forces Medic.
This post is a
tribute to Mark, as well as all of the other family members and friends
we all have lost fighting for our country. I want everyone know what an
absolutely amazing person he was and what a tremendous sacrifice he
paid for the freedoms we enjoy. The price is paid with the very best
blood our country has to offer and Mark is a perfect example of this.
Of all the people I
know, I cannot think of a more kind, generous and well rounded person I
have ever met. He was a true friend, slow to temper, always reliable
and extremely fun to be around. We spent so much time playing Halo on
Xbox that I am sure I will be in some kind of trouble when I stand
before the judgement bar. One night, we had played so much that instead
of going home, I crawled over to some random corner in his living room
and slept there for the night- not even realizing what I was doing.
There are so many memories of him working out, playing flag football,
going to Chick-Fil-A, talking for hours about women, scuba diving,
church, school and just about anything else 2 young men might talk
about- all of which I will treasure forever. Any person who does not
have a friend like Mark was to me is really getting a raw deal in life.
Mark's family,
including his brother Thad and his parents, Ray and Pat are as good as
they come. My heart is aching for them and I want them to know that my
thoughts and prayers are with them, how much I love them as well as
Mark. I spent most of the afternoon and evening down by the beach
crying & thinking about Mark, and how much he will be missed.
On one hand, this
is extremely painful and on the other, I cannot express how proud I am
of him. We had many talks about the dangers involved- Mark absolutely
knew what he was getting into and that there was a chance he may not
come back. He went anyway. Brave as hell. I have so much admiration and
respect for him. Losing Mark has been a reality check for me, in a good
way. I imagine that over the next short period I will be making some
changes in my life, mostly for the better, just knowing him and what he
gave up. It is a true pleasure and humbling honor to have known him. I
miss him so much already and would give anything to have him back.
Words cannot express how thankful I am to you Mark and I know I am
better person for having known you.
Today,
on September 29th, 2010- a great man named Mark Forester paid the
ultimate price for you and me, defending and protecting the Great
Country of America. Mark is, as so many others are, a True American
Hero.
Rest in peace
brother and God be with you till we meet again.
Greater
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends." - John 15:13
Mark and I
had been emailing each other, here are a few of the pictures he sent to
me.
Note, this
information and pictures were taken from Michael Andrew's Facebook.
Combat Controllers are
special operations forces trained to deploy in combat to establish
assault zones or airfields and to conduct air traffic and fire-support
missions.
Forester joined the Air
Force in 2007 and was stationed at Pope in September 2009, Duncan said.
He deployed to Afghanistan two months ago.
The 21st Special Tactics
Squadron is planning a memorial service in honor of Forester next week,
though the time and date had not yet been set, Duncan said.
Reached Thursday night in
Haleyville, Ala., Forester's aunt, Carolyn Forester, said he joined the
Air Force because he wanted to serve his country and that he loved the
work. His parents were at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Thursday
waiting for his return, she said.
HURLBURT FIELD — The
loss of the second Air Force Special Operations
Command Combat Controller has devastated the special
tactics community
and folks in Senior Airman Mark Forester’s hometown
in Alabama.
Forester, a 29-year-old
native of Haleyville, Ala., was killed Sept. 29 during combat
operations with his Special Forces team in Uruzgan Province,
Afghanistan.
His death comes less than
two weeks after Senior Airman Daniel R. Sanchez died Sept. 16
of wounds suffered during a firefight in that region.
“It’s
unheard of,” Capt. Kristen Duncan with AFSOC public affairs
at Hurlburt Field said of losing two Combat Controllers in such a short
period of time. “It’s just tragic news to the whole
special tactics community.”
She said there are
only about 350 Combat Controllers in the Air Force.
Forester was
assigned to the 21st Special Tactics Squadron at Pope Air Force Base,
N.C., in September 2009. He joined the Air Force in June 2007 and spent
almost two years training at Hurlburt Field.
“Mark was a
tremendous Combat
Controller and an exceptional human being who set an example
of
selfless service that we would all do well to emulate,” said
Lt.
Col. Parks Hughes at Hurlburt. “His death is a devastating
loss
for his family, the entire special tactics community and the Air
Force.”
Forester believed
“with all his heart” in serving his God, his
country and his family, said Maj. Edmund Loughran, acting commander of
the 21st Special Tactics Squadron at Pope.
“The unit
mourns his loss, but we could not be more proud of his devotion to
defending what he believed in most,” Loughran said.
Staff Sgt. Dathan
Nordheim, an airman with the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, trained
with Forester at Hurlburt and also in Texas, Georgia, Mississippi and
North Carolina.
“He was a really,
really good dude,” Nordheim said. “He was a strict
Mormon. He didn’t drink or smoke. … He
didn’t even swear. He was kind of like everybody’s
conscience.
“He was
straightforward. He wasn’t scared of anything.”
Nordheim, who also was
friends with Sanchez, said losing both men has been hard for him and
other airman. On a recent trip home from overseas, Nordheim crossed
paths with Sanchez before the senior airman got to his final base.
“Maybe it was the
jitters, but me and him sat up for like two days just talking about
life,” Nordheim said. “He was just a ball of
joy.”
Nordheim said he
“was in disbelief” when he learned of
Forester’s death.
“My wife
knew him as well and I had to tell her,” he said.
“I know some of the guys are taking it pretty hard.
… I’m kind of bracing myself for the funeral
coming up.”
Forester grew
up in Haleyville, about an hour from Tuscaloosa. His death marks the
first combat casualty from the town since Vietnam, according to Harold
Bearden, owner of a local television station.
Forester graduated
from Haleyville High School and attended the University of Alabama,
where he graduated with a degree in finance.
Haleyville resident
Lauren Tinker said she and Forester were so close that he was
almost a brother. She said he was
the youngest of five children. She added that his family is
struggling and the community is supporting them.
“There’s
nobody like him on the face of the planet,” Tinker said.
“When he went over there, we knew it was going to be
dangerous. But for as long as I can remember, he was bound and
determined that he’d be a soldier fighting for our country.
“Mark would not
have chosen another way to die. We have to take comfort in
that.”
Forester’s body
arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Thursday.
Funeral arrangements are
still pending, but Haleyville City School Superintendent Clint Baggett
said the memorial likely will have to be held in the high
school’s gym to accommodate the crowd.
Baggett was the principal of
Haleyville High School when Forester graduated.
“He always had the
gift of wit,” Baggett said. “He was certainly a
very personable young man.
“This is a
historic loss for Haleyville,” he added. “We pride
ourselves on raising children that are willing to give their all for
their country, and that’s exactly what Mark did.”
Forester’s
squadron at Pope Air Force Base will hold a memorial service
next week. The date and time has not yet been determined.
The deaths of Sanchez and
Forester are the first Combat Controller deaths in more than a year.
Combat controller Staff Sgt. Timothy Davis was killed in Afghanistan on
Feb. 20, 2009.
University of Alabama
graduate killed in Afghanistan
Relatives
say that Mark Andrew Forester had accepted the reality that his
commitment to the United States was going to keep him away from the
Crimson Tide's upcoming football season.
Forester,
a University of Alabama graduate and senior airman with the U.S. Air
Force, was supposed to return home to Haleyville next month and had
already made plans to attend the Iron Bowl in November with his family.
Instead, Forester, 29, died
Wednesday in combat in Afghanistan.
His family described him as good
brother and a gentle friend.
Forester's brother, Thad, said he
couldn't reveal many of the details surrounding his brother's death.
“He went down
fighting,” Thad Forester said.
Thad Forester, 33, said he was
concerned when his little brother announced that he would be taking his
finance degree not to Wall Street but to war.
“I supported
him,” Thad Forester said. “I mean, somebody has got
to do it — I'd just rather it not be my brother.
“But he was prepared for
the challenges and he knew that he was putting his life seriously on
the line.”
He recalled the day that he and his
brother bought a camouflage hat with an Alabama script
“A” from Woods & Water. Thad Forester said
his brother didn't buy it for his first tour of duty as an Air Force
Combat Controller — a highly trained, skilled position that
demands entry into hostile enemy territories.
“He just got it because
he liked it,” Thad Forester said.
But Mark Forester found a way to
work an item representing the Crimson Tide into his combat wardrobe on
a regular basis, Thad Forester said.
Thad Forester said his little
brother loved his job. “He loved shooting, he loved swimming
and he loved jumping out of planes — it was just things that
he loved,” he said. “And he was able to stay calm
in extremely stressful situations.”
Mark Forester was living with Thad
in Tuscaloosa, which ultimately led to him following Thad to the
university.
Both the Foresters met Michael
Andrew, a fellow UA student who became a professional photographer.
Andrew
wrote a memorial to Mark Forester on his website, www.michaelthemaven.com:
“Of all the people I know, I cannot think of a more kind,
generous and well-rounded person I have ever met. He was a true friend,
slow to temper, always reliable and extremely fun to be
around.”
Andrew said his friend was a
devout Mormon who did not smoke or drink.
“When he was interviewed
by the Air Force recruiter on why he wanted to enlist, he told him that
he wanted the opportunity to kill terrorists,” Andrew said.
“It was kind of unusual to find such a combination of a good
person and a warrior all in one.”
It was the warrior part of him
that led Mark Forester to choose one of the most grueling military
disciplines available.
He signed up to be a Combat
Controller, which put him on the battlefield.
Andrew said his friend believed
that protecting his country was his God-given task.
“Mark firmly believed
that his purpose and duty in life was to the United States,”
Andrew said. “He felt like that was what God put him on the
planet to do — literally.
“He was just a patriot
to the core.”
Family, Hurlburt Mourn Loss of Airman
A planeload of Air Force
personnel will fly from Hurlburt Field to a small town in Alabama this
week to attend funeral services for one of their own.
Senior Airman Mark Forester
was killed Sept. 29 during combat operations with his Special Forces
team in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan.
He was the second member of the elite group of Combat Controllers killed in less than two weeks. Texas native Daniel Sanchez,
who was 24, died Sept. 16 of wounds suffered in the same region of
Afghanistan.
Though Forester was stationed at Pope Air Force
Base, he
trained for more than a year at Hurlburt Field.
His services in the small town of Haleyville are
expected to
be so well attended that the Thursday afternoon funeral will be held at
Haleyville High School.
“It helps to see how vast Mark’s influence
was around the world,” said his brother Thad Forester.
“It makes us proud to be his family.”
Mark was the youngest of five children and the second to enter
the military. His older brother, Joseph, an Air Force major, will
accompany Mark’s body Tuesday as it is flown from Dover Air
Force Base in Delaware. There will be a viewing at Pinkard Funeral Home
in Haleyville on Wednesday from 5 to 9 p.m.
Thad said his brother had a quick wit, photographic memory and
a strong sense of purpose.
“He knew what he wanted to do in life,”
his brother said. “He was not only doing it, but he was
exceptional in his job in the military.”
Mark enlisted in the Air Force at age 26 after graduating from
college with a finance degree. That made him about eight years older
than many of his fellow recruits, who typically said they had enlisted
to pay for college or to help them get on the right path.
When Mark was asked why he had enlisted, he always gave the
same answer, his brother said.
“Because God wants me to kill terrorists,”
Thad recalls Mark saying.
“I know it sounds kind of extreme, but
that’s how he really felt,” Thad said.
“That was his mission in life, to protect the freedom of our
country. Somebody’s got to do it. We really didn’t
want him to do it.”
Though family members had worried that Mark felt invincible,
they learned in the months before he died that he was very aware of the
danger he was in.
Thad says that over the last few months, Mark had told family
members with increasing frequency that he loved them.
In photos taken before he deployed, Mark was a baby-faced,
clean-shaven young man. Photos taken in Afghanistan show him with a
mustache and beard.
He grew the facial hair because he was in Special Forces and
because of the area of Afghanistan where he was, Thad said. To support
Mark, Thad and their oldest brother also grew a beard.
“My oldest brother had a pact with Mark that he
would keep his beard until Mark came home in November,” Thad
said. “He still has it.”
Friends, family gather to
say goodbye to local soldier
HALEYVILLE - Staff Sgt. Robert
Bonello said in addition to being a good soldier, Mark Forester was his
best friend.
“Mark was the
bravest man I ever met. He was fearless, and his teammates wouldn't
want anyone else with them other than him,” said Bonello, a
Combat Controller with the U.S. Air Force and Forester's roommate.
With more than 1,200 people
packed into the Haleyville High School gym, Bonello and others who knew
Forester, including his brothers, remembered and honored him Thursday
afternoon.
Forester, 29, a 1999
graduate of Haleyville High School and 2006 graduate of the University
of Alabama, was killed Sept. 29 during combat action with his Special
Operations team in Uruzgan, Afghanistan.
“He always said he
was my moral compass, that when I strayed, he would be there to
straighten me out,” Bonello said. “I learned so
much from Mark and we became more than just friends. I'm a better
person for knowing him. It was an honor and blessing to know him for
the short time I did.
“Rest in peace, my
brother. I will never forget you.”
Forester was the youngest of
five children. His brother, Joseph, said Mark joined the Air Force in
2007 and was deployed in April.
“In 2009, Mark
became a Combat Controller, and he volunteered to go to
Afghanistan,” said Joseph Forester as he stood next to his
younger brother's casket, which was draped with an American flag.
“In the Mormon book there is a story about a man of valor.
The story reminds me of Mark.
“Mark is an
inspiration to us all. He is an American hero. What he did, he did to
make people free.”
David Forester, fighting
back emotions as he spoke of Mark, said he wasn't sure how to sum up
his feelings. He said his heart will always be full of memories of his
time growing up with his little brother.
Thad Forester said the
people who knew and loved his brother shouldn't let the last image of
Mark be that of the casket sitting in the middle of the gym.
“Mark lived great
and did great things. That's what we need to remember,” Thad
Forester said. “Mark has accomplished his mission on this
earth, and we should be happy for that.”
Above Video Made by 21st Member
Brigadier Gen. Otis G.
Mannon, U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command, said the outpouring
of support by the community to the Forester family shows the kind of
person Mark Forester was.
That was evident by
the
number of people who lined Alabama 195 to pay honor to their fallen
hero during the precession from the high school to Winston Memorial
Gardens in the Needmore community for the burial. Many sat in cars,
while others stood on the roadway waving flags or signs thanking
Forester for his service and sacrifice.
The precession was led
by 75
members of the Patriot Guard and stretched nearly a mile. The Patriot
Guard are veterans who provide escort services and support to fallen
soldier's families.
“(Mark) was
dedicated to his God, his country and his teammates,” Mannon
said. “He had chosen and excelled in one of the Air Force's
toughest jobs: Special Operations.”
More than 70
members of the
21st Special Tactics Squadron, who knew and served with
Forester, attended
the
funeral. As the ceremony at the cemetery was closing, each
member made his way, three at a time, to the casket to pay their last
respects and to salute their friend and comrade.
As they made
their way
between the Forester family and the casket, many stopped seemingly
saying a silent prayer for their friend, while others touched the
casket to say goodbye.
And then on cue four Air
Force fighter jets flew over saying their own goodbye. One jet broke
from the formation and continued on its own. and
“(Mark's) last
mission was one of difficulty and danger,” Mannon said.
“He was in heavy combat, but made the decision to go forward
to the aid of a fallen comrade, which reflected his courage and
dedication.
“Mark
served and
served well. We will not forget. We will never forget.”
Thad Forester said his little
brother loved his job. “He loved shooting, he loved swimming
and he loved jumping out of planes — it was just things that
he loved,” he said. “And he was able to stay calm
in extremely stressful situations.”
Mark Forester was living with Thad
in Tuscaloosa, which ultimately led to him following Thad to the
university.
Both the Foresters met Michael
Andrew, a fellow UA student who became a professional photographer.
Andrew wrote a
memorial to Mark Forester on his website, www.michaelthemaven.com:
“Of all the people I know, I cannot think of a more kind,
generous and well-rounded person I have ever met. He was a true friend,
slow to temper, always reliable and extremely fun to be
around.”
Andrew said his friend was a
devout Mormon who did not smoke or drink.
“When he was interviewed
by the Air Force recruiter on why he wanted to enlist, he told him that
he wanted the opportunity to kill terrorists,” Andrew said.
“It was kind of unusual to find such a combination of a good
person and a warrior all in one.”
It was the warrior part of him
that led Mark Forester to choose one of the most grueling military
disciplines available.
He signed up to be a combat
controller, which put him on the battlefield.
Andrew said his friend believed
that protecting his country was his God-given task.
“Mark firmly believed
that his purpose and duty in life was to the United States,”
Andrew said. “He felt like that was what God put him on the
planet to do — literally.
I lay down my weapon And put on my Beret To mourn in the loss Of a great man today So surreal Cant believe it Never seems real But Can't ignore it It's something i feel And will always store it No "maybe next time" No "see you later on" Its different this time I know that you're gone There'll be no more jokes
told No dumb movie quotes No more screaming "Living
on A Prayer" And missing all the notes
No more smoke filled
clubs You hated that scene But you always went out Keeping watch o'er the
team No more Chic-Fil-A Oreo
shakes No more Texas Roadhouse
steaks No more coconut cake Your Mom loved to make A short list of things
that we'll never share But I know you'll have
plenty of the best that's up there Finally, now you're on
eternal relaxed grooming So let that hair grow
till its full and booming And at The Gates as you
embrace all your Buddies They'l all pause to say,
"Wow, nice Duggy!" I can't speak for all,
but my life's been truly blessed Of all that I've known,
you're the greatest I've met I remember you now as you
join all the rest I say a final HooYah, and
WILL NEVER FORGET I'll pick up my weapon
and as today turns into night I'll honor my friend and
return to the fight.
