Forrest Nelson Leamon

Forrest Nelson Leamon was born on November 22, 1971 in Ukiah, California. He attended Potter Valley elementary and high schools graduation in June 1990. He was involved in 4-H, youth baseball and played football in high school. He was also active in the Ukiah Evangelical Free Church youth group. He attended Mendocino College one year before joining the Navy where he served in Naval Intelligence and earned the rank of Petty Officer 1st Class. He obtained a B.S. at the University of Maryland and became a member of the Drug Enforcement Administration as a special agent in 2002. He worked out of the El Paso, Texas D.E.A. office before entering the FAST (Forward-Deployed Advisory Support Team) program in 2007 based in Quantico, Virginia. He married Ana Laura Lopez on October 4, 2008 and they made their home in Virginia. He loved fishing, rock climbing, bicycling and the Steelers. He was a sensitive and caring person who always tried to do the right thing. On his deployments to Afghanistan he took soccer balls and donated art supplies for children in a school in Kabul. He made friends easily and was well liked by all. On his third deployment to Afghanistan, he died in a helicopter crash on October 26, 2009 in Western Afghanistan along with two other members of his team and 7 U.S. soldiers. His body, as well as the others, was received in Dover, Delaware in a dignified transfer that was attended by his wife, President Obama, the Attorney General, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Chief of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Services will be held Saturay, November 14, 2009 at 11am at the McLean Bible Church, Vienna, Virginia.

Survivors include his wife Ana and unborn child of Virginia; parents Richard & Sue Leamon of Fortuna, CA; sister Heather Leamon of Burney, CA; sister Wai Leamon of Redding, CA; nephews and niece William, Alan, Andrew and Rayah Leamon all of Burney, CA; his grandmother Arlene Oldham of Citrus Heights, CA as well as aunts, uncles and cousins.