A son and a Marine

Solemn farewell to fallen Sag Harbor Marine

BY MITCHELL FREEDMAN | mitchell.freedman@newsday.com
1:47 PM EDT, April 28, 2008
The stomping of feet as the Marines turned, the coffin of their fallen comrade in their care, broke the silence outside the First Presbyterian Church in Sag Harbor Monday morning, where hundreds assembled to grieve the death of Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter.

From the grade school children in blue ponchos, to the contingent of police officers, volunteer firefighters and veterans, to those who simply stood with unopened umbrellas as the rain pelted their shoulders, mourners paid quiet tribute to Sag Harbor’s first casualty of war in decades.

Haerter, 19, was killed by a suicide bomber in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi on Tuesday, but not before he acted heroically to save other U.S. troops, military officials have said.

Haerter, a rifleman at a checkpoint, shot a truck driver when that driver disregarded orders to stop, relatives have said. The truck, which was filled with explosives, then swerved from where other U.S. troops were positioned, the family said they were told by Marines.

Inside the church, the Rev. Steven Howarth told congregants that the family of a military serviceman who Haerter had saved came to Sag Harbor to thank Haerter’s family.

“He had determination and a sense of responsibility,” Howarth said.

When Haerter learned he was being deployed to Iraq, Howarth said the teenager responded with: “It’s what Marines do.”

In a letter read aloud to those gathered, Christian Haerter gave his son advice about the perilous landscape he faced in Iraq.

You “should have compassion and humanity and decency, which are not weaknesses in character but strengths. You should never let your guard down.”

Against the pale green walls of the church, also known as the Old Whaler’s Church, the red, white and blue colors of the U.S. flag draped over Haerter’s coffin seemed brighter still.

Haerter, a member of the First Battalion, Ninth Marines, who graduated from Pierson High School in 2006, had been in Iraq less than a month.

His burial was to follow at the Oakland Cemetery in Sag Harbor.

– Staff Writer Laura Rivera contributed to this story.

This story doesn’t do his case justice…

LCpl. Jordan Haerter was a Marine. He was 19 years old and died only a days in country. Let me tell you something about Jordan.

As Jordan was standing guard at the checkpoint, a truck approached. His battle buddy ordered the vehicle to stop, and instead…it lurched forward towards his fellow Marines. LCpl. Haerter threw his teammate down, and opened fire on the vehicle…killing the suicide-bomber and placing himself in harms way. The truck detonated and killed him, but he saved the lives of his brothers-in-arms through his actions. LCpl. Haerter made a choice, knowing full well the consequences of his actions might result in his death…

Rest in peace Jordan…your fight is over.

                                      Jeremy aka AlphaFoxtrot51

RIP Marine.

RIP, Marine.

Semper Fucking Fi.

Fight on with the other warriors in Valhalla, bro.

God bless him & his family.

RIP, Marine…

If there came a day when I had to make a stand, I pray that I may stand as this man once stood.

UPDATE

LCpl Jordan Haerter has been posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

Your sacrifice will not be forgotten Lcpl. Haerter.

Semper Fidelis.

Semper Fi Marine

It’s good that he was honored in this way. The Navy Cross is quite an award.

OOOra Marine Semper Fi.

He will be in my thoughts.

Very Good but it will never replace a hero.

The Navy Cross is the highest medal that can be awarded by the Department of the Navy and the second highest award given for valor.

Nice to see this thread pop up again this time of year when we give thanks.

nor will it replace a friend…

Here’s the full story:

IRAQ: Slain Marines awarded Navy Cross

Two young Marines will be posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for stopping a terrorist attack on a Marine and Iraqi police outpost in Ramadi and saving dozens of lives, the Marine Corps announced today.

Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, 19, of Sag Harbor, N.Y., and Cpl. Jonathan Yale, 21, of Burkeville, Va., were standing guard on April 22 when a truck filled with 2,000 pounds of explosives barreled toward the outpost’s main gate.

Haerter and Yale, following Marine training, fired at the truck. As the truck rolled to a stop, it exploded, killing the pair, demolishing a nearby mosque and house, and leaving a crater 20 feet in diameter and 5 feet deep.

Security film showed that the two Marines never flinched as they continued to fire at the truck, according to an investigation by the Marine Corps. “Both Marines were killed still firing their weapons,” said Maj. Gen. John Kelly, the top Marine in Iraq.

Three Marines, eight Iraqi officers and 24 civilians – all more than 100 yards from the blast – were injured. An additional 50 Marines and dozens of Iraqi police officers, in a barracks farther from the gate, were unhurt.

“I have a son back home, and I know if that truck would’ve made it to where it was going – I wouldn’t be here today,” Lance Cpl. Lawrence Tillery said after the attack. “Because of Lance Cpl. Haerter and Cpl. Yale, I will be able to see my son again. They gave me that opportunity.”

Haerter was with the 1st Battalion, 9th Regiment; Yale with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment. Both were attached to Regimental Combat Team One from Camp Pendleton. Yale’s family said he was within weeks of coming home.

The Navy Cross is the nation’s second highest award for bravery by Marines or sailors in combat. While there have been other Navy Cross awards during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the bravery of Haerter and Yale was unusual because it was captured on film and seen by numerous witnesses.

“For their dedication, they lost their lives,” Kelly said at the Marine base in Al Asad. “Only two families had their hearts broken on April 22 rather than as many as 50. These families will never know how truly close they came to a knock on the door that night.”

– Tony Perry in Al Asad, Iraq

Photo (top): The Navy Cross. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Photos: (bottom): Jordan Haerter, left, and Jonathan Yale were awarded the medal posthumously. Credit: Marine Corps

Jordan Haerter’s memorial page

If a warrior must fall in battle, he can only hope to meet his end in such a noble way.

Rest in peace, brother.

T.H.E. Rock: You’re going home now.
Crazy Earl: Semper fi.
Donlon: We’re mean Marines, sir.
Private Eightball: Go easy, bros.

semper Fi-from a ret. Marine-el lobo blanco

a son and a marine

semper Fi-from a ret. Marine-el lobo blanco