http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2009/02/marine_navy_crosses_022009w/
Lance Cpl. Nicholas Xiarhos was manning a rooftop observation post in Ramadi, Iraq, early April 22 when he heard a distinct sound: American gunfire.
A second later, an explosion rocked Joint Security Station Nasser. A fireball erupted as 2,000 pounds of explosives on a tanker truck exploded at one of the post’s gates, bowling over Marines across the installation, Xiarhos said.
“The explosion was so big, I thought the Iraqi police station (near the gate) had exploded,” Xiarhos said. “It put us all on the ground. The shock wave knocked us all down.”
It could have been worse. The attackers had the apparent intention of barreling onto the installation and blowing it up, killing as many of the 50 Marines and Iraqi police officers inside as possible.
But they hadn’t counted on crossing Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter and Cpl. Jonathan Yale.
On Friday, Haerter and Yale were posthumously awarded the Navy Cross — the nation’s second highest award for valor — for their actions that day. Navy Secretary Donald Winter presented the medals to their families in a ceremony at the National Museum of the Marine Corps near Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.
Marine officials said the two leathernecks held their positions as the truck barreled down on a security checkpoint while weaving through serpentine traffic barriers. Yale, of 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, used a M249 squad automatic weapon while Haerter, of 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, opened fire with a M4 rifle to stop the truck before it could get on post. It exploded just a few feet away from them, leveling the security station.
At the ceremony, dozens of Marines from their units and top Marine officials joined Winter in honoring the two Marines. Sgt. Maj. Carlton Kent, the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, assisted Winter in presenting the medals to Yale’s wife, Shannon, and Haerter’s mother, Jo Anne Lyles. Among those in attendance were Commandant Gen. James Conway, Assistant Commandant Gen. James Amos and numerous commanding officers and generals from nearby Quantico.
Reflecting on the incident, Winter credited Haerter and Yale with keeping cool heads and protecting their fellow Marines.
“They could have had many other opportunities in life, but they chose to serve their Corps and their country,” Winter said. “Make no mistake about it: When these young men decided to serve their country, they knew the situation they would likely face.”
Lance Cpl. Corey Teague, Haerter’s team leader on 3rd Platoon, Weapons Company, said he was monitoring security cameras inside a building just a few hundred feet away from the security checkpoint as the bombing unfolded. It happened quickly, he said, with the Marines opening up with a five- or six-second burst of gunfire, then rounds from the SAW.
“It was just one of those sucker punches that comes out of nowhere,” Teague said. “It hits you, it hits you hard, and you feel it. … He saved my life, so I’ll be telling my kids about it, and they’ll be telling their kids about it.”
Sgt. Nicholas J. Trapani, of Weapons Company, 2/8, said he was more than two miles away from Nasser when the explosion occurred, but could still hear it. In fact, it stirred him from his early-morning sleep.
“I said, ‘I don’t really don’t know what that is, but I better stay awake and find out,’ Trapani said.
Xiarhos, of 1/9, said he said he still struggles with accepting the incident, especially because Haerter was considered one of the more professional, squared-away Marines in the unit.
“The only thing I remember is getting up, looking around, doing security on the roof and making sure that no one was trying to infiltrate us,” Xiarhos said. “Then I looked back down and over the ledge (of the observation post), and the first thing I heard was, ‘Corpsman!’ Hearing that in that kind of situation, you just know.”
Lance Cpl. Nicholas Xiarhos was manning a rooftop observation post in Ramadi, Iraq, early April 22 when he heard a distinct sound: American gunfire.
A second later, an explosion rocked Joint Security Station Nasser. A fireball erupted as 2,000 pounds of explosives on a tanker truck exploded at one of the post’s gates, bowling over Marines across the installation, Xiarhos said.
“The explosion was so big, I thought the Iraqi police station (near the gate) had exploded,” Xiarhos said. “It put us all on the ground. The shock wave knocked us all down.”
It could have been worse. The attackers had the apparent intention of barreling onto the installation and blowing it up, killing as many of the 50 Marines and Iraqi police officers inside as possible.
But they hadn’t counted on crossing Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter and Cpl. Jonathan Yale.
On Friday, Haerter and Yale were posthumously awarded the Navy Cross — the nation’s second highest award for valor — for their actions that day. Navy Secretary Donald Winter presented the medals to their families in a ceremony at the National Museum of the Marine Corps near Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.
Marine officials said the two leathernecks held their positions as the truck barreled down on a security checkpoint while weaving through serpentine traffic barriers. Yale, of 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, used a M249 squad automatic weapon while Haerter, of 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, opened fire with a M4 rifle to stop the truck before it could get on post. It exploded just a few feet away from them, leveling the security station.
At the ceremony, dozens of Marines from their units and top Marine officials joined Winter in honoring the two Marines. Sgt. Maj. Carlton Kent, the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, assisted Winter in presenting the medals to Yale’s wife, Shannon, and Haerter’s mother, Jo Anne Lyles. Among those in attendance were Commandant Gen. James Conway, Assistant Commandant Gen. James Amos and numerous commanding officers and generals from nearby Quantico.
Reflecting on the incident, Winter credited Haerter and Yale with keeping cool heads and protecting their fellow Marines.
“They could have had many other opportunities in life, but they chose to serve their Corps and their country,” Winter said. “Make no mistake about it: When these young men decided to serve their country, they knew the situation they would likely face.”
Lance Cpl. Corey Teague, Haerter’s team leader on 3rd Platoon, Weapons Company, said he was monitoring security cameras inside a building just a few hundred feet away from the security checkpoint as the bombing unfolded. It happened quickly, he said, with the Marines opening up with a five- or six-second burst of gunfire, then rounds from the SAW.
“It was just one of those sucker punches that comes out of nowhere,” Teague said. “It hits you, it hits you hard, and you feel it. … He saved my life, so I’ll be telling my kids about it, and they’ll be telling their kids about it.”
Sgt. Nicholas J. Trapani, of Weapons Company, 2/8, said he was more than two miles away from Nasser when the explosion occurred, but could still hear it. In fact, it stirred him from his early-morning sleep.
“I said, ‘I don’t really don’t know what that is, but I better stay awake and find out,’ Trapani said.
Xiarhos, of 1/9, said he said he still struggles with accepting the incident, especially because Haerter was considered one of the more professional, squared-away Marines in the unit.
“The only thing I remember is getting up, looking around, doing security on the roof and making sure that no one was trying to infiltrate us,” Xiarhos said. “Then I looked back down and over the ledge (of the observation post), and the first thing I heard was, ‘Corpsman!’ Hearing that in that kind of situation, you just know.”
Navy Secretary Donald Winter awarded the Navy Cross to two fallen Marines on Feb. 20.