Retired Lt. Gen. John “Jack” Franklin Forrest, 69, former commander at Fort Carson, died Tuesday, May 27, 1997 in Colorado Springs, Colorado following a series of strokes.  Interrment in Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs.

John was born June 20, 1927 in Mexia, Texas, the second son of Robert E. and Gertrude Klug Forrest.  His ancestor was the great Confederate General, Nathan Bedford Forrest.  His father was severely injured as an Army Air Corps pilot in WWI, and his brother Robert fought in the Battle of the Bulge in WWII and survived capture by the Germans.   Just two years ago, Forrest helped keep Fort Carson off the Pentagon’s base-closure list in 1995.

Jack left Mexia when he was a young boy. The oil business led his father to move the family to Houston; Saginaw, MI; and Olney, IL.   At Olney High School, Jack was a superb scholar and athlete, joining the National Honor Society and playing varsity basketball and football. A fine swimmer, he worked summers as a lifeguard. Jack was president of his senior class and the Debate Club, and voted "Most Popular." He had no trouble entering West Point during the closing days of World War II.

Forrest spent 38 years in the military beginning in 1945 at West Point, where he played football and boxed. Forrest graduated in 1949 and earned a master's degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin in 1962.

He saw combat in Korea and Vietnam, and earned 64 citations and decorations, eight for valor, including the Distinguished Service Medal, three Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars, the Legion of Merit and two Purple Hearts.

Forrest was commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson from 1976 through 1978 and retired from the Army in 1983 after two years as deputy commander in chief, U.S. Army, Europe, where he was one of the Army's top experts on terrorism.

After retirement, Forrest served as the first executive director of the U.S. Space Foundation from 1983 to 1985.

Jack Forrest rests beneath a simple, military-issue headstone, beside a U.S. Army private in Colorado Springs' Evergreen Cemetery.  

Jack is survived by his wife Patricia; his children - Scott, John Jr., Robert, Diana, MAJ Michael, William, 2LT Patrick, James, Thomas, Mary; five grandchildren; and many, many others who  love him.

Plain Dealer, The (Cleveland, OH) – Monday, June 2, 1997