The life and legacy of Special Agent Forrest Nelson Leamon was honored by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration El Paso Division agents on the 15-year anniversary of his death in Afghanistan.
Leamon, 37, was honored by the DEA El Paso Division Saturday, Oct. 26, at Restlawn Memorial Cemetery in Northeast El Paso, where they placed flowers on Leamon’s grave. It’s a yearly tradition carried out by the agency to remember the sacrifices Leamon made for his country.
“Agent Leamon is one of our own,” DEA El Paso Division Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James said in a statement. “In addition to him being a part of the DEA Wall of Honor, the DEA Training Room in El Paso bears his name. Our Albuquerque Office is also named in his honor. On the 15th anniversary, I want his family to know he will never be forgotten.”
Leamon joined the DEA in 2002 after serving as a cryptologic technician for nine years in the U.S. Navy. He was transferred to the El Paso Division from Washington D.C. in 2003 and continued to serve in El Paso until 2007, the El Paso Times reported. He served a critical role in El Paso in “several significant international enforcement operations against Mexico-based drug trafficking organizations,” DEA officials said.