Col. James Boyd Foster, Jr.

Colonel James Boyd Foster Jr. U.S. Army Retired passed away at his home in Oxford Maryland on 17 July 2009. Born 22 January 1919 in Baltimore, he graduated from the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute in 1937. He attended the University of Michigan where he studied Marine Engineering and received his commission as a 2nd Lt in the Army Corps of Engineers in 1941. He saw service in WWII in North Africa and Italy and at the conclusion of the war he was assigned to ROTC instructor duty at Oklahoma A&M (State) in Stillwater Oklahoma. It was here that he met and married his first wife Elizabeth Henshaw and remained married to her until her death in December 1980. He was a graduate of the Command and General Staff College. In September 1950, COl Foster was assigned to the US X Corps in Korea, where along with the 2nd Marines he made the long frozen withdrawal from the Chosin Reservoir in Nov & Dec 1950. After returning from Korea he was assigned to England where he commanded the 8017 Engineer Aviation Battalion (heavy construction). In 1958 he returned to Korea, once again, to serve with the Korean Military Advisory Group (KMAG). Upon his return to the states in September 1961 he retired from the Army. His awards and decorations include; the Bronze Star Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal. COl Foster worked for the State of Ohio Department of Highways as a civil engineer until 1971 when he moved his family to Oxford MD. He worked at the Robert Morris Inn until 1982. He was preceded in death by his father James B. Foster Sr, his mother Elizabeth Chinook Foster, of Baltimore, his sisters Margaret Reeder, Harriet French and his brother Ensign Robert Boyd Foster, as well as many beloved pets. He is survived by his wife of 27 years Jeanne Kelly Foster of Oxford, his daughter Harriet Foster Long, of Washington DC, his son LTC James B. Foster III, US Army Retired of Oxford MD, two grand children William Hunter Long and Elizabeth Henshaw Long. COL Foster was a member of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church and served on the vestry. In addition, he was a member of the Tred Avon Yacht Club, the Oxford Sailing Association, and a lifetime member of the Retired Officers Association. Services will be held at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Oxford Maryland, on Saturday, 25 July at 11:00. Interment will be held immediately following the service with full military honors. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be sent to the Oxford Volunteer Fire Company or the Talbot County Humane Society.

Col. James Boyd Foster, Jr.

January 22, 1919 - July 17, 2009