Feb 18, 2009 10:57 am US/Eastern
Marines Who Made Ultimate Sacrifice Honored In DC
Yarmouth Father Whose Son Was Saved To Make The Trip
FALMOUTH (WBZ) ―
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Two young marines, Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, of Sag Harbor, NY and fellow Marine Cpl. Jonathan Yale, of Burkeville, VA, were manning a checkpoint as a suicide bomber tried to drive by.
WBZ
A brick wall is all that stood between a suicide truck bomber and 50 marines and Iraqi police asleep in their barracks.
Two young marines, Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, of Sag Harbor, NY and fellow Marine Cpl. Jonathan Yale, of Burkeville, VA, who had just met each other, were manning a checkpoint as the suicide bomber tried to drive by. They stood their ground – killing the driver, but they sacrificed themselves when the bomb went off. "These two 19-year-old marines in six seconds made a decision to stand their ground and fight. And that saved everyone's life," said Yarmouth police Lt. Steve Xiarhos.
Xiarhos knows all the details of this story because his son, Nicolas, was one of the marines that was saved. "We're one of the fortunate 50 families that got to spend Christmas with their sons."
The bombing was in April of last year, but this Friday, Xiarhos and the families of the fortunate 50 will be in Washington to show their support as the families of the two marines killed are given the second highest military honor – the Navy Cross – posthumously.
"I convey my sincerest appreciation for what their sons did and knowing that their Gold Star parents… I could have been one of them," said Xiarhos.
In the final investigation, it was determined that the men never stopped firing. The two brave marines reacted just as they were trained to do.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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