Forester, Clarence M., 1915-2004

Clarence Michael Forester was born in 1915 at Alfred, North Dakota. His father died when he was a young child, and his mother supported the family running a restaurant and taking in laundry. Forester left home at age 13 to work on a farm, and at age 15 came to Minneapolis.

In 1937-1938 Forester was a member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a group of 2700 American volunteers who fought in the Spanish Civil War for the Loyalist government against a military insurgency led by General Francisco Franco. They with other young men from non-Spanish countries made up the International Brigade. Forester served with Republican artillery units, and returned from Spain in December 1938. The war ended with Franco's capture of Madrid in March 1939.

During World War II Forester served with the United States Army, participating in the drive across France and Germany (1944-1945). He apparently was a member of the First Army's 188th Field Artillery Battalion.

Forester returned to Minneapolis after the war, where he worked factory jobs and as a machinist. He retired around 1983.

In November 1996 Forester and 380 International Brigade volunteers, including 70 members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, traveled to Spain as guests of the Spanish government on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the formation of the International Brigade and as a tribute to their unsuccessful struggle to defend the Spanish Republic against fascism. The veterans were made honorary citizens of Spain.

Forester's wife Hazel (Haapala) died in 1987. The couple were married for 46 years and had no children. Forester died in Minneapolis November 29, 2004.