This article was originally published on Dec. 20, 2013.
A Sag Harbor soldier who lost his life in Iraq five years ago is being remember this holiday season as people across the county petition the White House for him to receive the Medal of Honor, the highest military honor, awarded by the President of the United States.
Marine Lance Cpl. Jordan C. Haerter was just 19 when he and Marine Corporal Jonathan T. Yale shot and stopped a truck packed with 2,000 pounds of explosives that was speeding through a serpentine of concrete barriers on April 22, 2008. The bomb detonated, killing them, but their quick actions saved the lives of 150 Marines and Iraqi soldiers at the Joint Security Station Nasser in Ramadi.
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Haerter and Yale received the Navy Cross, the second highest military honor, in 2009. Haerter was the first East End soldier killed during the Iraq War, and was also the first from Sag Harbor killed in combat since World War II.
JoAnn Lyles, Haerter's mother, said she wasn't sure who started the petition, but she was pleased to learn Americans were continuing to honor her only child.
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"It would be an unbelievable honor for Jordan and Jonathan. I would hope if it succeeds, it may help to keep their memory in the minds of the many that they saved . . . and help those Marines' future children to pass along the story of the brave Marines that saved their fathers or uncles or brothers," Lyle said.
She is supporting the petition through Facebook pages and groups and various Marine websites and email contacts with the hope to obtain 100,000 signatures by Jan. 5. As of Friday afternoon, there were 1,140 signatures.
Lyles said she stumbled across the petition on Thursday on Yale's mother, Rebecca Yale's Facebook page. "She doesn’t know who started it either. I do wish I had seen it earlier, because the deadline is looming for the required signatures," she said.
The author's initials are "G.F" and his hometown is listed in Alexandria, Va., but Lyles said she can't think of anyone she knows who matches that description. "I thought Rebecca Yale might know because the Yales are from Virginia," she said.
Lyles said it was actually Susan Keophila, now retired from the Army, who made it her mission to see that these two Marines receive the Medal of Honor, but she is unaware of its origin.Keophila was in Ramadi at the time of the explosion that killed Haerter and Yale. "She was stationed at a joint compound, some three miles away and knows all too well how it shook with the blast and the sound was deafening," Lyles said.
"She cites 'Marine humility' as the reason they were not awarded it in the first place," Lyles said. Over the last four years, Keophila has written numerous letters, attached documentation of facts and supporting evidence, and sent them to her Congressmen in Virginia, where she lives.
To sign the petition, you must create an account on Petitions.WhiteHouse.gov. You will then receive an email confirming your account. To sign the petition, click here.
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