Ellen Biltz

Associate News Editor

One year ago he was just a physics major, eating at the dining halls and sitting next to you in McBryde 100. Then in May, as his school year was coming to a close, he got the call — the call that changed everything.

James Forester is now a Marine combat engineer serving in Iraq. Instead of graduating this spring, he will be returning home from a seven-month tour at the frontline of the War in Iraq.

“I reacted to it all pretty calmly,” Forester said about his deployment. “Everybody around me, though, was pretty much shocked.”

While leaving family and friends at home was tough for Forester, he has experienced greater losses while serving overseas.

On Jan. 26, a Tech student and friend of Forester’s died. Cpl. Christopher Weaver, along with three others in his Lynchburg-based company, Cpl. Jonathan Bowling, Cpl. Karl Linn and Sgt. Jessie Strong, were killed in an attack. Forester was the only Marine not injured or killed in the attack on their Humvee.

“I don’t really remember seeing the explosion. For a second, it just got quiet, and I felt like my arm had been scratched a little; and then I looked around, asking if everyone was okay … I yelled at Weaver, but he didn’t respond. He was at my feet. I shook him and he still didn’t respond. He had died instantly,” Forester said. “Bowling didn’t respond either, but then we realized he was still breathing so we called for air rescue but they took so long that we just started driving. They finally got there, but he died in the helicopter.”

Forester said the night they were attacked was really hard because of how well their platoon got along.

“Most platoons are close, but we were especially close because we’ve known each other for so long,” he said.

Jenna Roark, Forester’s girlfriend and a junior wildlife science major, said she never knew Forester to be afraid of serving in Iraq.

“It was really hard when he left because it was just such a big surprise. I’ve been worrying the whole time, and I know he was nervous; but he knew he had been trained to do this, so he was ready to go,” she said.

Forester is not the only military figure in his family. With a twin brother who is also a Marine out of a different base, and an older brother in the army, his family has seen its share of calls.

“When James was called, his twin brother (John) wanted to go. He had been activated once before, but couldn’t go because of all the training. Then when James was called, he wanted to be with him,” Roark said.

Roark said Forester’s older brother was currently active in the war, but was serving on a base within the United States right now.

“I think the hardest thing was that everyone knew that nothing could keep James from going overseas. His brothers didn’t go to Iraq, but we knew he was going to go,” she said.

Forester plans to come home March 7, but he said that could always change a little in the military.

“I’m just looking forward to coming back and graduating next year,” he said.