[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 1] [House] [Pages 792-793] [From the U.S. 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 [[Page 793]] read about these two brave Marines and keep their families in their prayers. [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). ____________________