Memorial held for fallen special forces Airman

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kris Levasseur
  • 43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. (AFNS) --  A memorial service for an Airman who was recently killed in action was held here Oct. 8.

Senior Airman Mark Forester, 29, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., was killed Sept. 29 while conducting combat operations with his special forces team in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan.

"Mark believed with all his heart in serving his God, his country and his family," said Maj. Edmund Loughran, the 21st 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." 

Airman Forester was an Air Force Special Operations Command combat controller assigned to the 21st Special Tactics Squadron here.

"When one of your own falls to enemy fire, it hits everyone in the family like a gut check," said Chief Master Sgt. Ty Foster, of the Air Force Special Operations Command Public Affairs. "Make no mistake, the special tactics Airmen of Air Force Special Operations Command are family.

"Most of the time, these quiet professionals spend their days readying for war -- honing their bodies and minds for their next deployment," he said. "But when one of their brothers is wounded or killed in action, they rally en masse to serve their brother's family and render honor to their fallen. That's what happened last week when the special operations community lost one of their own."

More than 80 members of the 21st STS attended Airman Forester's funeral in Alabama Oct. 7, along with other servicemembers.

One attendee, Staff Sgt. Robert Bonello, had been Airman Forester's roommate, teammate and best friend for the past two years.

"Mark was more than my friend," said Sergeant Bonello. "He was my family, my brother. I thank God every day for the time Mark and I had together. He made me the man I am today.

"The support we saw in Mark's hometown for his funeral was unlike anything I have ever seen for one person," he said. "The entire town lined the streets to honor Mark and welcome him home. It was an amazing tribute to the kind of person he truly was."