“When we heard that Forest would be going to Iraq, we were concerned like any parents would be whose son was going into harm’s way,” explained Diane Ibbotson.  “Von and I knew when Forest signed up for active duty after the September 11, 2001 attacks, there was a distinct possibility he would be serving in a war zone.  We were not surprised when he participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom.” 

Forest Jostes joined the National Guard at the age of 17, and served during his senior year in high school.  While in boot camp at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, he was the youngest and smallest of all the men serving at that base.  “He told me that he learned a lot about what it meant to ‘soldier on’ during boot camp,” remembers Mrs. Ibbotson. 

The Ibbotsons’ son, Army Cpl. Forest Jostes, was killed while on a volunteer mission to set up a medical evacuation point for fellow soldiers wounded and trapped in an abandoned building.  The 16 soldiers were on a routine patrol in Sadr City, Iraq, when they came under enemy fire and called for an evacuation unit.  Two rapid response teams answered the call. 

“From what we learned later, the first team made it through; my son was in the second team,” recounted Mrs. Ibbotson.  “There were four men in his group.  Enemy fire wounded two men; the third member of the team assisted one of the wounded.  My son, the fourth team member, was wounded and died while engaged in battle with the enemy.”   

Cpl. Forest Jostes died in battle side by side with Casey Sheehan, son of anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan.  He was 21 years old when he was killed on April 4, 2004. 

The firefight between U.S. soldiers and the enemy went on into the night.  Unarmed Iraqi civilians went into the line of fire to assist the wounded U.S. soldiers and bring them to safety. 

“The day we received the news that Forest had given his life for his country, my family determined that we would continue to serve God and country.  We would pick up the fight against terror that our son gave his life for,” stated Mrs. Ibbotson.  Originally, the Ibbotson family set up a scholarship fund to assist those with military interests.

However, the night before Forest died, he had called home and spoke briefly to both of his parents.  In that last conversation, Forest and his parents had the opportunity to say “I love you.”   Forest ended the call because he had only one minute left on his calling card and he didn’t want the call cut off. 

“When we thought about that later,” described Mrs. Ibbotson, “we realized how important and valuable that last phone call was.  We wanted other soldiers and their families to have the opportunity to talk as often as possible.  So, we began to collect calling cards to send to the men and women overseas, and to the wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital,” explained Mrs. Ibbotson.   

Diane and Von Ibbotson became involved with Families United when they were invited to a meeting with other Gold Star Families by Major Chuck Larson.  Their first activities were in their home state of Illinois, but later on the Ibbotsons attended activities in Washington, D.C., where they met with other parents whose children had died in Iraq.  They also met with members of Congress and participated in a rally and a press conference.  Since then, Diane Ibbotson has become an eloquent spokeswoman for Families United, appearing on the major national networks as well as international outlets.

When asked to describe her son, “He was the kind of boy that loved life and he lived it in the fast lane,” she laughed.  “Really – he drove much too fast!  Forest had a great sense of humor.  He also had a romantic side; Forest never stopped loving his high school sweetheart.” 

“Young people lose their lives every day in accidents or because of illness,” continued Mrs. Ibbotson.  “My son gave his life for a reason.  And he’ll always be remembered as an American hero.  He would choose again to give his life in the service of God and country.”  

News

• Read a transcript from Diane's interview on "Fox and Friends," 2/13/2006.

• Diane Ibbotson of Albion, Ill., lost her first-born son in Iraq. Forest Jostes, 21, died April 4, 2004. She's frustrated that this is even a story. "The focus on the media seems to be on the cost of war only, and not the accomplishments," Ibbotson said.
  
  She lists accomplishments without hesitation: The Iraqi constitution just approved, which vows to fight terrorism and to stand for non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
  
  She's furious that activists will use this milestone as a reason to call for withdrawal. "To use their sacrifice as a statistic, for a political agenda is wrong. It's disgraceful," she said.
  
  Ibbotson is an activist in support of the war's mission, and she said she was asked when she demonstrated in Washington last month: "What price are you willing to pay? How many lives should we commit to winning the war on terror?" She said her answer is: "When we're willing to tell our children and our grandchildren that fear and oppression and tyranny hold the reins of their future, then the cost of freedom will be too great." She said Forest "died for freedom's sake. I wouldn't want his graveside to be where the hopes and the dreams of a great nation were laid to rest." Scripps-Howard, 10/25/05
  
  
• "Our voices of resolve must be heard," said Diane Ibbotson, whose son, Army Cpl. Forest Jostes, was killed in the same battle as Sheehan's son, Casey. "Our message is simple. We will win the war on terror." Los Angeles Times, 10/26/05
  
  
• Diane Ibbotson came to the District amid yesterday's anti-war protest to support U.S. efforts in Iraq and say her enlisted son died for a worthy cause.
  
  "I know the loss. I know the grief," Mrs. Ibbotson said. Her son, Army Cpl. Forest Jostes, 21, was killed in Iraq alongside the son of Cindy Sheehan, the California woman whom the media has made a recognizable face of the anti-war movement.
  
  "But," Mrs. Ibbotson said, "a mother's grief, as deep as it goes, does not justify undermining the morale of the United States armed forces while we are at war." Washington Times, 9/25/05

• "I think about other families who have lost children through accident and illness and disease, tragic stories of lives lost," Ibbotson told a Tribune editorial writer this week. "I have consolation in knowing my son died a hero. And also we have a volunteer Army. No one came and forced my son, no one came and forced Casey. They volunteered for the mission. They were trained soldiers. They knew they weren't going to Boy Scout camp. They knew. They had all written their wills. We said the I love you's and be safe, don't be a hero, and come home."
  
  The battle in which both men died was terrifying, confusing and heartbreaking. A Shiite Muslim uprising ignited by rebel cleric Moqtada Sadr swept through the teeming Baghdad slum known as Sadr City. After an American patrol was ambushed by Sadr's force, fighting raged through the evening as more than 1,000 U.S. soldiers were deployed to reclaim the area. Soldiers described the horror of riding through burning barricades, bullets and grenades.
  
  Casey Sheehan and Jostes were part of Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery, 1st Cavalry Division. They had arrived at their base in Iraq less than a week before the uprising and had never faced major combat. They were among 21 soldiers who volunteered for a rescue team to retrieve casualties. Chicago Tribune, 8/31/05