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Updated: December 30, 2008, 1:27 pm	Share    Print    Email

Hundreds of Sag Harbor residents attended the dedication ceremony to remember Lance Corporal Haerter's sacrifice and lay first eyes on the monument erected in his memory. Photos by Christine Bellini and Aaron Boyd

Lance Corporal Haerter's mother JoAnn Lylee and father Christian Haerter thanked village residents for all their help through the trials of the last few months.

Sag Harbor - Sag Harbor residents stood solemnly through the stormy morning of Saturday, Nov. 15, rain indecipherable from tears on their faces, as local, county and state officials dedicated the bridge that spans the cove and is gateway to the their hometown as the Lance Corporal Jordan C. Haerter Veterans Memorial Bridge.

Lance Corporal Haerter grew up in Sag Harbor before leaving to serve his county as a United States Marine. On April 22, 2008, at the age of 19, Haerter and another Marine, Corporal Jonathan Yale, of Mehemn, VA, fired upon a dump truck loaded with explosives careening toward their compound in Ramadi, Iraq. The truck detonated within a safe distance from the 33 Marines and over 50 Iraqi Police inside, however Haerter and Yale were killed in the explosion.

Among the local dignitaries were (from left) State Assemblyman Fred Thiele, State Senator Ken LaValle, Southampton Town Councilwoman Anna Throne-Holst and Congressman Tim Bishop.

Dignitaries from Sag Harbor Village Mayor Greg Ferraris to U.S. Congressman Tim Bishop (D-1st) were on hand for the solemn tribute, marking the renaming of the bridge that will forever commemorate Haerter and fellow veterans of Sag Harbor. The ceremony was punctuated by a first-hand account of that April morning by Lt. Col. Brett Bourne, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion 9th Marines, and a haunting fly-by of a U.S. Marine helicopter which hovered over the bridge as an honor guard marched to it's crest, a fitful blessing for safe passage.

"We remember today all the valiant men and women who serve," the Rev. James Cardone of the Sag Harbor First Presbyterian Church prayed at the dedication ceremony, "Each and every one who laid down their lives so that we may live in peace."

Observers lined both sides of the street leading up to the bridge and crowded around the tent that housed the notable guests of honor, including Haerter's father and mother, Christian Haerter and JoAnn Lylee, other Gold Star Mothers and Fathers who have lost sons and daughters in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 40 of Haerter's fellow Marines.

Marines walked the crest of the bridge, commemorating the first passage under its new designation.

"Just as Jordan was Sag Harbor's son," Reverend Cardone noted, "They [the Marines in attendance] are our adopted sons." Haerter was a 2006 graduate of Pierson High School and the first village resident to die serving in combat since World War II.

"You are a true brotherhood, full of tradition and honor," Lylee welcomed the Marines who came to remember her son. "Breathe, take in this weekend in Jordan's Sag Harbor," she urged, "and remember the little things, you'll find one day that they were the big things."

A haunting fly-by of a U.S. Marine helicopter hovered over the bridge as an honor guard marched to its crest, a fitful blessing for safe passage.

The ceremony was not just for Haerter's family and fellow Marines, but for all the residents of Sag Harbor who continue to mourn the loss of a village son. "The love and support of Sag Harbor has been immeasurable," Lylee asserted appreciatively.

The monument and bridge dedication "doesn't bring Jordan back," U.S. Congressman Tim Bishop (D-NY) conceded, "but it helps the community to know that a hero was raised here."

"Thank you Sag Harbor for all that you've done and all that you do," Jordan's father Christian Haerter addressed the audience, "And to the Marines: Semper Fidelis."

The official name change for the bridge passed the New York State Senate and Assembly on May 21 and was signed by Gov. David Paterson on July 7. The dedication ceremony on Nov. 15 was coupled with the presentation of a granite memorial in honor of Haerter's heroism and sacrifice. "A young boy or girl will see this monument and ask their parents, 'Who was Jordan Haerter?'" County Executive Steve Levy predicted, "And they'll tell them, 'This is a man who gave his life so that we may live in peace.'"

"How unbelievably moved we are that we have men like Jordan that will put their lives on the line for us," Executive Levy commented, commending Sag Harbor for raising such a fine citizen and soldier.

"Each and every one of you is a part of Jordan," Christian Haerter explained to the community, "The face you see in the granite today may seem to be your own, but don't be fooled, it's the face of a hero."

"No one has greater love than this," Reverend Cardone had asserted, "than to lay down his life for his friends."

RIBBON CUTTING: (from the left) Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, Sag Harbor Mayor Greg Ferraris, North Haven Mayor Laura Nolan, local veterans and visiting Marines, former State Assemblyman John Behan (sitting), State Senator Ken LaValle, and State Assemblyman Fred Thiele.

For More Photos, Visit The Following Link(s)

Jordan Haerter Veterans Memorial Bridge Dedication