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thedrifter
12-31-08, 08:33 AM
The Last Stand of Cpl. Yale and Lance Cpl. Haerter


Take a look at this photo...These Marines are gathering together one week after two of their brothers fired on a VBIED which then detonated and killed them. The two Marines, Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter and Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale, saved their brothers lives by giving their own.

http://www.blackfive.net/photos/uncategorized/2008/05/12/87199.jpg

CAMP RAMADI, Iraq - The Marines with 3rd Platoon, Police Transition Team 3, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, come together April 29 to prove their resolve and to show support for one another. Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale, a rifleman with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment and Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter were killed in action April 22 by a suicide bomber inside a dump truck with approximately 1,000 pounds of high explosives. "I was on post the morning off the attack," said Lance Cpl. Benjamin Tupaj, a rifleman with 3rd Platoon, Police Transition Team 3, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, with a hurtful tone in his voice. "I heard the (M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon) go off at a cyclic rate and then the detonation along with a flash. It blew me at least 3 meters from where I was standing. Then I heard a Marine start yelling 'we got hit, we got hit.' It was hectic." (Photo/ LCpl. Casey Jones).

Heroic Last Stand, Marines Thwart Enemy Attack
By Lance Cpl. Casey Jones
Regimental Combat Team 1

RAMADI, Iraq – It was a typical quiet morning on April 22, with the temperature intensifying as a bright orange sun emerged high from the horizon.

However, this morning would be different. Quickly it would turn chaotic, then tragic. Two Marines would gallantly sacrifice their lives so others could live.

Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, a rifleman with 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, and Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale, a rifleman with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, RCT-1, were standing post, just as they’ve done numerous times before. It was during a standard length watch at a small checkpoint protected by concrete barriers where they overlooked a small gravel road lined with palm trees leading to their entry control point.

A truck packed with thousands of pounds of explosives entered the area where Haerter and Yale were standing guard. Realizing the vehicles intentions Haerter and Yale, without hesitation, stood their ground, drew their weapons and fired at the vehicle. The truck rolled to a stop and exploded, killing the two Marines.

“I was on post the morning of the attack,” said Lance Cpl. Benjamin Tupaj, a rifleman with 3rd Platoon, Police Transition Team 3, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines. “I heard the (M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon) go off at a cyclic rate and then the detonation along with a flash. Then I heard a Marine start yelling, ‘we got hit, we got hit.’ It was hectic.”

In the face of a committed enemy, Haerter and Yale stood their ground, in turn saving the lives of numerous Marines, Sailors, Iraqi policemen, and civilians. Both Marines displayed heroic, self-sacrificing actions and truly lived up to the Corps' values of honor, courage, and commitment.

“They saved all of our lives; if it wasn’t for them that gate probably wouldn’t have held,” Tupaj said. “The explosion blew out all of the windows over 150 meters from where the blast hit. If that truck had made it into the compound, there would’ve been a lot more casualties. They saved everyone’s life here.”

“They are heroes because thousands of pounds (of explosives) would’ve made its way through the gate and many more of us wouldn’t be here,” said Lance Cpl. Lawrence Tillery, a rifleman with 3rd Platoon. “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. Because of Lance Cpl. Haerter and Cpl. Yale, I will be able to see my son again. They gave me that opportunity.”

A week after the attack, the Marines with 3rd platoon, remember their fallen brethren as good friends and Marines.

“Cpl. Yale was a great guy, really friendly and kind of shy,” said Hospitalman Eric Schwartz, a corpsman with the platoon.

Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter was killed in action April 22 by a suicide bomber inside a dump truck with approximately 1,000 pounds of high explosives. Haerter battled a hostile challenger, in turn saving the lives of countless Marines, sailors, Iraqi policemen, and civilians. He displayed heroic, self-sacrificing actions and truly lived up to the phrase honor, courage, and commitment while putting his own life in harm's way.

“Haerter was an amazing guy. I knew everything about him; he was my best friend,” said Lance Cpl. Cody Israel, a rifleman with 3rd platoon and Haerter’s roommate for more than a year and half.

Haerter and Yale were both posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal, Combat Action Ribbon and have been nominated for an award for their valor.

Godspeed Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter and Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale.

Ellie

Jarhed87
12-31-08, 10:25 AM
Godspeed Marines! :flag:

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r62/commentyou/patriotic/images/pat00038.jpg

thedrifter
01-01-09, 06:47 AM
Fallen Marines to be Awarded Navy Cross


Cpl. Jonathan Yale and Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter saved Iraqi police and fellow Marines from a truck-driving suicide bomber, Marine brass say. The April attack could have slain dozens. They had known each other only a few minutes, but they will be linked forever in what Marine brass say is one of the most extraordinary acts of courage and sacrifice in the Iraq war.

Cpl. Jonathan Yale, 21, grew up poor in rural Virginia. He had joined the Marine Corps to put structure in his life and to help support his mother and sister. He was within a few days of heading home.

Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, 19, was from a comfortably middle-class suburb on Long Island. As a boy, he had worn military garb, and he had felt the pull of adventure and patriotism. He had just arrived in Iraq.

On April 22, the two were assigned to guard the main gate to Joint Security Station Nasser in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, once an insurgent stronghold and still a dangerous region. Dozens of Marines and Iraqi police lived at the compound, and some were still sleeping after all-night patrols when Yale and Haerter reported for duty that warm, sultry morning.

Yale, respected for his quiet, efficient manner, was assigned to show Haerter how to take over his duties.

Haerter had volunteered to watch the main gate, even though it was considered the most hazardous of the compound's three guard stations because it could be approached from a busy thoroughfare.

The sun had barely risen when the two sentries spotted a 20-foot-long truck headed toward the gate, weaving with increasing speed through the concrete barriers. Two Iraqi police officers assigned to the gate ran for their lives. So did several Iraqi police on the adjacent street.

Yale and Haerter tried to wave off the truck, but it kept coming. They opened fire, Yale with a machine gun, Haerter with an M-16. Their bullets peppered the radiator and windshield. The truck slowed but kept rolling.

A few dozen feet from the gate, the truck exploded. Investigators found that it was loaded with 2,000 pounds of explosives and that its driver, his hand on a ”dead-man switch,” was determined to commit suicide and slaughter Marines and Iraqi police.

The thunderous explosion rocked much of Ramadi, interrupting the morning call to prayers from the many mosques. A nearby mosque and a home were flattened. The blast ripped a crater 5 feet deep and 20 feet across into the street.

Shards of concrete scattered everywhere, and choking dust filled the air.

Haerter was dead; Yale was dying.

Three Marines about 300 feet away were injured. So were eight Iraqi police and two dozen civilians.

But several dozen other nearby Marines and Iraqi police, while shaken, were unhurt. A Black Hawk helicopter was summoned in a futile attempt to get Yale to a field hospital in time. A sheet was placed over Haerter.

When it was considered safe to take Haerter's body to a second helicopter, his section leader insisted he be covered by an American flag. “We did not want him carried out with just a sheet,” said Staff Sgt. Kenneth Grooms.

Maj. Gen. John Kelly, the top Marine in Iraq, wanted to know how the attack happened. Like many veteran Marines, he is haunted by the memory of the 1983 bombing of the barracks in Beirut, when a blast from an explosives-laden truck killed 241 U.S. service personnel, including 220 Marines.

Not given to dark thoughts or insecurities, Kelly, who commanded Marines in the fight for Baghdad and Tikrit in 2003 and Fallouja in 2004, admits that the specter of another Beirut gives him nightmares as he commands the 22,000 Marines in Iraq.

He went to Ramadi to interview Iraqi witnesses -- a task generals usually delegate to subordinates.

Some Iraqis told him they were incredulous that the two Marines had not fled.

When Marine technicians restored a damaged security camera, the images were undeniable.

Ellie

thedrifter
01-01-09, 06:49 AM
2 Marines get bravery medals posthumously
Guarding gate to security station, they prevented bomb from killing many

By TONY PERRY, Los Angeles Times
First published: Wednesday, December 31, 2008

SAN DIEGO — They had known each other only a few minutes, but they will be linked forever to what U.S. Marines brass say is one of the most extraordinary acts of courage and sacrifice in the Iraq war.

Cpl. Jonathan Yale, 21, grew up in Farmville in rural Virginia. He had joined the Marine Corps to put structure in his life and support his mother and sister. He was within a few days of heading home.

Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, 19, was from Sag Harbor, a comfortably middle-class suburb on Long Island As a boy, he had worn military garb, and he had felt the pull of adventure and patriotism. He had just arrived in Iraq.

On April 22, 2008, the two were assigned to guard the main gate to Joint Security Station Nasser in Ramadi, the capital of al-Anbar province, once an insurgent stronghold and still dangerous.

Dozens of Marines and Iraqi police lived at the compound, and some were sleeping after all-night patrols when Yale and Haerter reported for duty. Haerter had volunteered to watch the main gate, even though it was considered the most hazardous of the compound's three guard stations because it could be approached from a busy thoroughfare.

The sun had barely risen on a warm sultry morning when the two sentries spotted a 20-foot-long truck headed toward the gate, weaving through the concrete barriers. Two Iraqi police officers assigned to the gate ran for their lives. So did several Iraqi police on the adjacent street.

Yale and Haerter tried to wave off the truck, but it kept coming. They opened fire, Yale with a machine gun, Haerter with an M-16. The truck slowed but kept rolling.

A few dozen feet from the gate, the truck exploded. Investigators found it was loaded with 2,000 pounds of explosives and its driver, his hand on a "dead-man switch," was determined to commit suicide and slaughter Marines and Iraqi police.

The thunderous explosion rocked Ramadi, interrupting the morning call to prayers from mosques. Haerter was dead; Yale was soon to be.

Three Marines about 300 feet away were injured. So were eight Iraqi police and two- dozen civilians. But several dozen other nearby Marines and Iraqi police, while shaken, were unhurt.

Without their steadfastness, the truck probably would have penetrated the compound before it exploded, and 50 or more Marines and Iraqis would have been killed. The incident happened in just six seconds.

Maj. Gen. John Kelly, the top Marine in Iraq, nominated the two young men for the Navy Cross, the second-highest award for combat bravery for Marines and sailors.

Even by the standards expected of Marine "grunts," their bravery was exceptional, Kelly said.

The Haerter and Yale families will receive the medals early in 2009.

Ellie

thedrifter
01-01-09, 09:42 AM
LI Marine hero to be honored with Navy Cross
BY MARTIN C. EVANS | martin.evans@newsday.com
January 1, 2009

The Marines will posthumously award their highest combat valor medal, the Navy Cross, to Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, a Sag Harbor native killed in Iraq in April fending off a truck bomb aimed at fellow Marines.

Haerter's mother, JoAnn Lyles, said the award for her son and a fellow Marine killed with him, Cpl. Jonathan Yale, will bring a measure of sadness, but she is happy that his bravery will not be forgotten.

"It's nice for Jordan, but it's bittersweet," Lyles said. "I really think he would have thought he was just doing his job. It's what they are trained to do."

Haerter and Yale were on guard duty at an entrance to a compound in Ramadi that housed scores of Marines and Iraqi police. When the driver of a 20-foot truck ignored orders to stop, the two Marines held their ground while Iraqi soldiers fled. Firing automatic weapons, they brought the truck to a stop moments before it detonated.

"If that truck had made it into the compound, there would've been a lot more casualties," said witness Lance Cpl. Benjamin Tupaj, according to a Marine news release. "They saved everyone's life here."

Marine officials decided to grant the award to Haerter and Yale, of Burkeville, Va., after reviewing security footage of the incident, Camp Lejeune Marine spokesman Lt. Philip Klay said.

Klay said Marine officials are trying to schedule the ceremony for February so members of the two men's units can attend. Haerter was with the 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Yale with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine.

Lyles said the ceremony may be at the National Museum of the Marine Corps near the Quantico Marine base in Virginia, or at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina or another venue.

The medal is second only to the Medal of Honor, the government's highest military award. It is granted only to those who act with conspicuous bravery in the presence of great danger or personal risk.

Ellie