[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 14, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H300-H301]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1930
   HONORING CORPORAL JONATHAN YALE AND LANCE CORPORAL JORDAN HAERTER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Corporal Jonathan Yale 
and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter, who grew up in different parts of 
this Nation but gave their lives to this country together in Iraq. Both 
have been nominated for the Navy Cross for their actions on April 22, 
2008, and both are owed a great gratitude by this Nation for their 
actions.
  Tony Perry--a journalist who I got to know in Fallujah in 2004--from 
the LA Times, who has covered this story, describes what transpired 
that morning best. Corporal Jonathan Yale, 21, grew up in poor 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 Corporal Jordan Haerter, 19, was from a comfortable 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 the Anbar 
province, once an insurgent stronghold, and still a very dangerous 
place. 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 guards 
station 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 to the gate. Two Iraqi police officers ran for their 
lives, so did several Iraqi police on the adjacent street. Yale and 
Haerter tried to waive off this truck, but it just kept coming. They 
opened fire, Yale with the 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 big truck exploded. 
Investigators found that it was loaded with over 2,000 pounds of 
explosives and that its driver, his hand on a ``dead-man switch,'' was 
determined to commit suicide and slaughter the marines and Iraqi 
police.
  The thunderous explosion rocked much of Ramadi, interrupting the 
morning call to prayers for many mosques. A nearby mosque and a home 
were flattened. The blast ripped a crater five feet deep and 20 feet 
across into the street. Shards of concrete shattered 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.
  Mr. Speaker, we all hope that in times of great crisis, we will rise 
to the occasion and do the right thing. Haerter and Yale rose to the 
occasion and defended their fellow Marines. It is an honor to call them 
fellow Marines.
  Major General John Kelly, Commanding General, First Marine 
Expeditionary Force (Forward) interviewed the witnesses himself. What 
he learned from these interviews led him to nominate the two for the 
Navy Cross, the second highest award for combat bravery for the Marine 
Corps and the United States Navy. In General Kelly's statement in 
support of the Navy Cross, he writes: ``Because they did what they did, 
only 2 families had their hearts broken on 22 April, rather than as 
many as 50. These families will never know how truly close they came to 
a knock on their door that night.''
  We are winning in Iraq and Afghanistan because of brave Marines like 
Corporal Jonathan T. Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan D. Haerter. To 
their families I offer my heartfelt condolences. And to Corporal Yale 
and Corporal Haerter, I say, Marines, job well done.
  This is but one example of the bravery and sacrifice of over 4,000 
men and women who have given their lives to the cause of liberty since 
2001 and the over 1.5 million men and women who have served in 
Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom and come home, 
and, of course, the over 150,000 that are serving now.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to include for the Record Tony Perry's 
entire article and Major General Kelly's statement in support of the 
award of the Navy Cross. I encourage all of my colleague and hope all 
Americans will read about these two brave Marines and keep their 
families in their prayers.

[[Page H301]]

                 [From Los Angeles Times Dec. 29, 2008]

           A Speeding Truck Bomb, and A Shared Act Of Courage

                            (By Tony Perry)

       San Diego.--Two Marines in Iraq saved dozens--but not 
     themselves. They'll be awarded the Navy Cross. 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.
       While Iraqi police fled, Haerter and Yale had never 
     flinched and never stopped firing as the Mercedes truck--the 
     same model used in the Beirut bombing--sped directly toward 
     them.
       Without their steadfastness, the truck would probably 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.
       ``No time to talk it over; no time to call the lieutenant; 
     no time to think about their own lives or even the American 
     and Iraqi lives they were protecting,'' Kelly said. ``More 
     than enough time, however, to do their duty. They never 
     hesitated or tried to escape.''
       Yale was always trying to boost the morale of his buddies, 
     said Lance Cpl. Brandon Creely, 21, of Boise, Idaho. 
     ``Whenever I was down, he'd tell a joke, tell me it's not as 
     bad as it seems.''
       Staff Sgt. Grooms, 28, said he knows how Haerter should be 
     remembered. ``He was a hero,'' Grooms said, ``and a damn fine 
     person.''
                                  ____


Statement of Major General John F. Kelly, USMC--In support of the Navy 
 Cross Recommendations in the Cases of Corporal Jonathan T. Yale, USMC 
               and Lance Corporal Jordan C. Haerter, USMC

  The following statement is a compilation of events from my personal 
interview of several Iraqi police men, view for a video tape of the 
entire event capture by the Joint Security Station's (JSS) security 
camera, and walking the site.
       At 0745C on 22 April 2008, Joint Security Station, JSS, 
     Nasser, Ramadi, Iraq, was attacked by a very large truck bomb 
     with an estimate explosive weight over 2,000 lbs. The truck 
     was driven by a suicide bomber who was consumed in the blast. 
     At the time two battalions, 1st Battalion 9th Marines and 2 
     Battalion 8th marines were conducting a relief in place at 
     JSS Nasser. The JSS by its nature who housed a relatively 
     large number of Iraqi police. At the time of the attack two 
     Marines, Corporal Jonathan T. Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan 
     C. Haerter were standing post at the entry control point 
     (ECP-- along with two Iraqi policemen. At least 8 other Iraqi 
     policemen were also on duty about 60m away at the 
     intersection (Routes Apple and Sophia) of a busy city street, 
     and the entrance alley to the JSS in the Sophia District of 
     Ramadi.
       Without warning a Mercedes tank truck made the turn and 
     immediately accelerated negotiating the serpentine careening 
     towards the entryway of the JSS compound. The Marines 
     undoubtedly understood immediately what was taking place as 
     they went straight to the guns without any escalation of 
     force firing continuously until the truck lurched to a stop 
     just outside the compound's gate, and literally a few feet 
     from the Marines, when it detonated. Both Marines were killed 
     still firing their weapons. Three Marines were also wounded 
     over 100m from the event, as were at least eight Iraqi 
     officers and 24 civilians. A nearby mosque and house were 
     both destroyed, with a number of others houses suffering 
     significant damage. The blast crater measured 20 feet in 
     diameter and five feet deep. At the time of the attack, and 
     because of the ongoing relief in place, there were over 50 
     Marines on site with a similar number of Iraqi police 
     officers. It was only due to the bravery of the two Marines 
     that a catastrophe was averted, but that is exactly why they 
     were there to prevent such a bomb from entering the compound 
     and they did exactly that.
       When interviewing several police officers separately on 25 
     April at the JSS they all told essentially the same story. 
     When the truck turned down the entryway to the JSS the tip 
     off that it was not an innocent delivery was that it 
     accelerated through the concrete Jersey walls. The Marines on 
     station immediately began to fire then some of the police 
     joined in. One of the officers made the point that no sane 
     man would have stood there and fired--yet two men did. 
     Another said he knew the Marines were crazy (he meant 
     fearless I think), but this was beyond what he'd seen Marines 
     do even when he was fighting us as an insurgent two years 
     before. A third who was no more than 15 feet from the two 
     Marines when the truck turned into the alley ran to safety in 
     the few seconds it took the truck to negotiate the 60 m to 
     the gate (caught on tape). He survived. He told me when he 
     observed the truck accelerating and the Marines firing he ran 
     but the Marines did not. All were in agreement that had the 
     Marines not stood their ground to their deaths the truck 
     would have wiped out the JSS and everyone in it.
       Subsequent to my taking these interviews I viewed a video 
     of the entire event captured by our surveillance camera at 
     the entryway of the JSS. It took several days to forensically 
     recover the images from the badly damaged camera. I did not 
     know either one of the hero's, but I have known thousands 
     like them in my career. They will do anything we ask them to 
     do--even to their deaths. Like the police officers they could 
     have run and likely survived, but did not. I do not think 
     anyone would have called them cowards if they had. They took 
     seriously the duties and responsibilities of a Marine on 
     post, and stood their ground before they would allow anyone 
     or anything to pass. For their dedication they lost their 
     lives. Because they did what they did only 2 families had 
     their hearts broken on 22 April, rather than as many as 50. 
     These families will never know how truly close they came to a 
     knock on the door that night.
                                                    John F. Kelly,
     Major General, U.S. Marine Corps Commanding General, I Marine 
                                    Expeditionary Force (Forward).

     

                          ____________________