Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
New York Daily News
April 27, 2008 By John Lauinger and Carrie Melago, Daily News Staff Writers
A heartbreaking homecoming for a fallen Long Island soldier stretched across three states Saturday, as mourners lined streets and highways for a final farewell.
A police escort ferried 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter's body from the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to his hometown of Sag Harbor, where hundreds waited along Main St. to salute him.
From the Verrazano Bridge to the Sunrise Highway, cops and firefighters met Haerter's motorcade as it passed.
"We all think it's amazing. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts," said Haerter's uncle, Ken Lyles, 45, of Patchogue.
"Everyone is devastated, but this certainly helps."
Killed in a suicide car bombing Tuesday in the Ramadi province, Haerter was remembered as a hero for shooting at the bomber, stopping him from doing more damage.
"Everybody came out on their own to do this," said Mark Gregory, 40, an FDNY fire lieutenant who didn't know Haerter. "It's the right thing to do."
Gregory and members of the East Quogue Fire Department parked trucks along the median of the Sunrise Highway Saturday and unfurled a giant American flag.
Where the highway narrows near Hampton Bays, hundreds of law enforcement vehicles lined both sides of the street and officers stood side-by-side in their dress uniforms.
Silence fell over Main St. in Sag Harbor as the procession pulled in at 12:45 p.m. Members of the Sag Harbor Fire Department stood at attention as hundreds of citizens held small American flags.Among them was Alberta McAree, 50, who went to school with Haerter's father.
"I just wanted to show my support as a person who has lived in Sag Harbor all my life and to honor Jordan for the service he gave to his country," she said. "It's a horrible thing that happened."
After a salute by Marines, Haerter's coffin was to be carried into the Yardley & Pino Funeral Home. His funeral will be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow at First Presbyterian Church of Sag Harbor.
Haerter's aunt, Barbara Haerter, said the community response provided solace to the family, particularly the solider's parents JoAnn and Chris Haerter, who met their son's hearse at the Goethals bridge.
Barbara Haerter said she was touched by the sight of an old man in Central Islip standing alongside a pick-up truck draped in an American flag. "He was just waiting for the procession to come by two hours before," she said. "It just gave us such comfort." Haerter was a 2006 graduate of Pierson High School in Sag Harbor and hoped to become a police officer after returning from Iraq. He was sent there from Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C., after enlisting in 2006.
April 27, 2008 By John Lauinger and Carrie Melago, Daily News Staff Writers
A heartbreaking homecoming for a fallen Long Island soldier stretched across three states Saturday, as mourners lined streets and highways for a final farewell.
A police escort ferried 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter's body from the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to his hometown of Sag Harbor, where hundreds waited along Main St. to salute him.
From the Verrazano Bridge to the Sunrise Highway, cops and firefighters met Haerter's motorcade as it passed.
"We all think it's amazing. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts," said Haerter's uncle, Ken Lyles, 45, of Patchogue.
"Everyone is devastated, but this certainly helps."
Killed in a suicide car bombing Tuesday in the Ramadi province, Haerter was remembered as a hero for shooting at the bomber, stopping him from doing more damage.
"Everybody came out on their own to do this," said Mark Gregory, 40, an FDNY fire lieutenant who didn't know Haerter. "It's the right thing to do."
Gregory and members of the East Quogue Fire Department parked trucks along the median of the Sunrise Highway Saturday and unfurled a giant American flag.
Where the highway narrows near Hampton Bays, hundreds of law enforcement vehicles lined both sides of the street and officers stood side-by-side in their dress uniforms.
Silence fell over Main St. in Sag Harbor as the procession pulled in at 12:45 p.m. Members of the Sag Harbor Fire Department stood at attention as hundreds of citizens held small American flags.Among them was Alberta McAree, 50, who went to school with Haerter's father.
"I just wanted to show my support as a person who has lived in Sag Harbor all my life and to honor Jordan for the service he gave to his country," she said. "It's a horrible thing that happened."
After a salute by Marines, Haerter's coffin was to be carried into the Yardley & Pino Funeral Home. His funeral will be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow at First Presbyterian Church of Sag Harbor.
Haerter's aunt, Barbara Haerter, said the community response provided solace to the family, particularly the solider's parents JoAnn and Chris Haerter, who met their son's hearse at the Goethals bridge.
Barbara Haerter said she was touched by the sight of an old man in Central Islip standing alongside a pick-up truck draped in an American flag. "He was just waiting for the procession to come by two hours before," she said. "It just gave us such comfort." Haerter was a 2006 graduate of Pierson High School in Sag Harbor and hoped to become a police officer after returning from Iraq. He was sent there from Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C., after enlisting in 2006.