Jordan C. Haerter

Jordan Christian Haerter (July 30, 1988 – April 22, 2008) was a United States Marine who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for actions performed alongside Jonathan T. Yale during the Iraq War.

Jordan C. Haerter was born in Southampton, New York, on July 30, 1988. Haerter was raised in Sag Harbor and graduated from Pierson High School in 2006. In September 2006, he reported to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island and qualified as an expert on the rifle range and had the highest score in his company.

After boot camp, he was assigned to 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Haerter's unit deployed to Iraq in March 2008. They were turning over with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines at Joint Security Station Nasser in the city of Ramadi in Al Anbar Province.

On April 22, 2008, Lance Corporal Haerter was standing guard with a Marine from 2/8, Corporal Jonathan Yale, and two Iraqi policemen at the Entry Control Point of the compound, which looked down an alleyway. At 7:45 in the morning, a suicide truck bomb turned down the alleyway and barrelled towards the entrance point. The Iraqi policemen ran from the gate while Haerter and Yale opened fire on the vehicle. The two Marines managed to bring the truck to a stop just a few feet from their position. Just six seconds after the truck entered the alleyway, it detonated with 2,000 pounds of explosives and killed both Haerter and Yale as they continued firing their weapons. Haerter was the first resident of Sag Harbor to be killed in action since World War II.

Haerter and Yale were credited with stopping the truck from crashing through the gate and saving the lives of more than 50 Marines and Iraqi policemen and were recommended for the Navy Cross by General John F. Kelly. Their families were presented with their Navy Crosses on February 20, 2009. Haerter was buried in Oakland Cemetery in Sag Harbor.