For one University of Memphis student, hearing the news of afellow student being shot in a robbery attempt hit close tohome.
"Everyone thought that we looked alike," said Talmage Jacksonabout his friend and fellow ROTC cadet, Ezine Anderson. "The firstsergeant always got us confused."
The events of that June 5 night may have altered the appearanceof Anderson forever. Anderson, 20,was shot in the neck and leftparalyzed.
Anderson, a criminal justice major, is set to graduate nextyear. According to cadets, Anderson hoped to serve in the army for20 years and become an Army Ranger.
Willie Roy Ramsey, Jr., student, ROTC cadet and friend ofAnderson, broke the news to Jackson about the incident.
"I told him at the mall where he works. He wouldn't stopcrying," Ramsey said. "We walked the mall four times before hestopped crying."
Anderson, Jackson and Ramsey were not only fellow cadets butalso they were friends who stuck together. They helped each othersucceed in the classroom and in ROTC training. With an eye to thefuture, all three would train and study together. The trio wouldeven take the same classes.
In the spring semester, all three friends took the same criminaljustice class. Sometimes the three would study all night longpreparing for their criminal justice test, according to Ramsey.
Their dedication paid off-- all of them passed, and Anderson goton The University of Memphis dean's list this pass semester.Anderson's success went beyond academics.
"(Anderson) was always good in physical exercises," Ramsey said."Ever since school got out for the summer all three of us would goto the weight room --play ball."
According to Ramsey, Anderson succeeded at whatever he tried andwanted to help others reach a higher level.
"He is not mediocre--he wanted to help people below him up tohis level," Ramsey said.
Jackson was one of those benefactors of Anderson's determinationto help someone reach the next level.
Anderson and Jackson competed fiercely but amicably. Each wouldtry to beat the other in ROTC physical tests.
"He was always trying to beat my score," Jackson said. "I alwaysbeat him, but the last two tests we took, he beat me."
Jackson recalls Anderson's determination was very clear from thebeginning as a high school student in the junior ROTC program.
"He was so hell bent on making a Ranger. He would be a greatleader," Jackson said. "Of all the cadets, he was the one we neverworried about. We knew he was going to make it."
According to Capt. David Green, Anderson was involved in thejunior ROTC mentorship program at Fairley High School. Thementorship program pairs up current ROTC cadets with junior ROTCprograms to provide support and help in ROTC subjects andevents.
Anderson would train with them and would be there for moralsupport. Anderson also checked up on the junior cadets and advisedthem, according to Ramsey.
At The U of M, Anderson volunteered in all ROTC activities andcolor guard. Anderson is also a member of the NAACP on campus.Anderson was one of a few students at Fairley High School whoreceived a full ROTC scholarship.
According to Ramsey, this was not surprising for a guy who wasgoing to make a career out of the military.
"We played ball together and hung out, but when he was here (inthe ROTC program) he turned into the officer we need in the Army,"Ramsey said.
Master Sgt. Nelson Burnside, who was Anderson's instructor forthe previous year, said Anderson was highly motivated in class andwished to succeed.
"He was always a go getter," Burnside said. "He was a big partof the program. We could count on him for anything that needed tobe done"
Anderson also exhibited these qualities at home. He would helpout around the house. Anderson used his job mainly to supporthimself, but would also help his family, according to Jackson.
In fact, the night Anderson was shot, he was going to buy milkfor his two-year-old sister.
He left the Schnuck's at 1212 East Shelby Drive and was going todrive back home, when a robber yelled, "Drop it off," according topolice.
Anderson was shot and the bullet shattered his spinal cord. Hecollapsed near his car, according to police.
"He was our dear soldier," Ramsey said. "He was someone with somuch life -- to be up and running, ran with me even, and all of asudden this."
Anderson's full ROTC scholarship has been put on hold, accordingto Capt. Green "until he recovers and meets all the physicalrequirements of the ROTC program."
Sitting in front of Tiger Battalion at Hayden Hall, Jacksondescribes Anderson as someone who exemplifies what it means to be afriend.
"Everybody on campus would be blessed to have a friend likehim," Jackson said.
As of Monday, Anderson is in critical condition at the RegionalMedical Center in Memphis.
