SAG HARBOR, NY, USA U.S. Marines LCPL, 1ST BN, 9TH MAR, (RCT-1, I MEF FWD), 2D MAR DIV, CAMP LEJEUNE, NC CAMP RAMADI, IRAQ 04/22/2008
“He was a nice kid, some kids come and go.” “He was one of those kids you don’t forget,” said Ronn Pirrelli, who coached Jordan in Little League. Jordan was born on July 30th, 1988 to proud parents JoAnn Lyles and Christian Haerter in Southampton, New York. He was raised in Sag Harbor, where he attended Stella Maris Pre-School, Sag Harbor Elementary School, and Pierson High School. Jordan was a part of the Pierson High School Graduating Class of 2006. His classmates remember his infectious smile, his quick-witted humor with dry delivery, his laidback views on life, his outlandish ideas and his kind and gentle demeanor. His father said his son was always a hands-on type of guy who preferred to be out in the real world working, getting your hands dirty, rather than in a classroom. Friends and family recall Jordan’s independence and his willingness to bring on new challenges in his life. At the age of 13, he took up flying, and by the time he reached 16, he had a solo flight completed. Jordan enjoyed waging paintball battles and driving his beloved Dodge pickup truck on the beach. He was a great, great kid, said principal Jeff Nichols. He was really well-liked.
Throughout Jordan’s childhood, Jordan displayed signs of his passion for the military. He would always ask his mom to create the most historically precise military Halloween costumes. His mother recalls the Halloween in which Jordan aspired to wear a Revolutionary War costume, a Redcoat from the British Army, but he would not even consider trying it on until the buttons were historically accurate, so Jordan ventured to the library to research the buttons worn on Revolutionary War uniforms. Halloween costumes aside, his fascination with the aircraft carrier Intrepid, and the Air Force Blue Angels also sparked Jordan’s military aspirations. In his senior year yearbook, Jordan C. Haerter’s favorite movie was Black Hawk Down and his ambitions included become a good Marine and successful in life.
He enlisted in the United States Marines after his 2006 graduation from high school. Jordan was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Reginment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based Camp Lejeune, in Jacksonville, North Carolina. In December of 2008, it was announced that Jordan was to be awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism. His family was given the award on February 20, 2009. He had dreams of becoming a police officer for the city of Sag Harbor and planned to retire from that early in order to take over his dad’s water filtration business.