Photo By Terrance Bell | Marines unveil a memorial plaque bearing framed pictures of Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale...... read more read more
FORT LEE, Va. (April 24, 2018) -- Standing guard at an entry control point in Ramadi, Iraq, Marine Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale and Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter used small arms fire to engage a speeding truck carrying 2,000 pounds of explosives. Their actions caused the vehicle to explode, killing the driver and thwarting the attack.
Fifty Marines and 100-or-so Iraqi security forces inside the perimeter were saved that day, according to witnesses. However, the 21-year-old Yale and the 19-year-old Haerter were killed in the blast.
The Secretary of the Navy posthumously awarded the Navy Cross to the pair for the courage and sacrifice they demonstrated on April 22, 2008.
Though it has been 10 years since the incident, the Marines’ acts of heroism still resonate with reverence and honor. That was the sentiment April 20 when the Fort Lee Military Entrance Processing Station rededicated its oath and ceremony room to Yale, a Burkeville native who swore to defend the country within those same four walls when he entered the military.
“It’s hard to say Cpl. Yale without including Lance Cpl. Haerter as well,” said the ceremony’s guest speaker, Maj. Charles E. Miller of the Richmond Marine Recruiting Battalion. “Those two Marines, in demonstrating a belief in something bigger than themselves, have continued the legacy of a lot of great Marines who have come before them – a legacy all of us across the services can look to and hope to build.”
Yale’s mother, Rebecca, and sister, Tammy, were among the family members present for the ceremony. MEPs personnel as well as members of the greater Fort Lee community also were in attendance. Devil Dogs from the Fort Lee Marine Detachment provided the ceremonial elements for the event.
In telling the Marines’ story, Miller said the pair’s decisive actions in the face of impending danger was more than remarkable because they had alternatives.
“At that split second, they made the hard right decision over the easy wrong one,” he said. “The easy wrong decision in that situation is to take cover or run away. An Iraqi police officer was there, and that’s exactly what he did. While he lived on, those two Marines held their ground. When they did that, they contributed not only to the Corp’s legacy, but to the protection of Americans abroad who are trying to do right by their country and trying to look out for one another.”
Looking back on Yale’s life, the MEPS commander said his decision to fight was a culmination of who he was as a person and Marine … traits that are worthy of remembrance, honor and emulation. Army Maj. LaToya M. James also said Yale’s deeds are part of a history audience members can use to write their own stories.
“Most of us would not be held as a hero when we leave this world,” said the Soldier during her remarks, “but we have the opportunity now to model a fraction of Cpl. Yale’s bravery and courage. I challenge each of you to ask yourself ‘What will the headlines read when your story comes to an end? What will your family, friends and strangers say about the content of your character? Will you be the hero in your story?’”
Sgt. Dominique McDaniel, the MEPS operations noncommissioned officer, is charged with making sure roughly 15,000 future recruits are sworn in on an annual basis. He also was the ceremony coordinator and said it was a matter of the heart to head the effort.
“Cpl. Yale was a Marine, and I felt like I was taking care of my own,” he said. “There also was some significance for me when I became a Marine. That hit home when I learned he had processed through this installation. I felt like it was my responsibility at that point.”
Toward the end of the ceremony, a new framed picture of Yale along with his Navy Cross citation was unveiled. It was ceremoniously hung on the wall of the room where he took the oath more than 10 years earlier.
More than nine years ago, the Honorable Donald Winter presented the Navy Cross to the families of Yale and Haerter at Quantico’s Museum of the Marines Corps. He said the two can stand tall for what they did for their comrades and what they did for the Marines on that fateful day.
“I have every confidence that if Jordan and Jonathan were on duty today, they would be standing as proudly as they were on that faithful Tuesday,” he said during the ceremony. “Let us be inspired by the heroism of these two Marines and by the many sacrifices made by service members at home and abroad in the long war.”
| Date Taken: | 04.25.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 04.25.2018 08:15 |
| Story ID: | 274383 |
| Location: | BURKEVILLE, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 267 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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