Some acts of courage last only seconds, yet their meaning lasts forever. On the morning of April 22, 2008, two young U.S. Marines standing guard at a checkpoint in Ramadi, Iraq, saw a truck loaded with explosives racing toward them. Instead of running, Corporal Jonathan Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter stood their ground and opened fire. They stopped the truck before it could reach the compound behind them, and in doing so they saved the lives of roughly 150 Marines and Iraqi police. Both men were killed in the blast. This is their story.
Ramadi and the War in Anbar Province
Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s Anbar Province, was for years one of the most dangerous cities in the country. After the 2003 invasion, insurgents and al-Qaeda in Iraq turned it into a stronghold, and Marines and soldiers fought block by block to take it back. Beginning in 2006 and 2007, local tribal leaders turned against the insurgents in what became known as the Anbar Awakening, and American forces worked alongside newly recruited Iraqi police to secure the city.
By the spring of 2008, Ramadi was far calmer than it had been, but the danger had not disappeared. Joint security stations, where Marines and Iraqi police lived and worked side by side, remained tempting targets for suicide bombers.
Two Marines From Very Different Worlds
Jonathan T. Yale was 21 years old, a corporal with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines. He had grown up poor in rural Virginia, and the Marine Corps had given him purpose and a family of brothers. By April 2008 he was nearing the end of his tour and preparing to head home.
Jordan C. Haerter was 19, a lance corporal with the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines. He had been raised in the village of Sag Harbor on Long Island, New York, in a middle-class family. He had just arrived in Iraq for his first deployment.
The two men had known each other for only a short time. Yale’s unit was handing over the area to Haerter’s, and that morning they shared guard duty at the entry control point of a joint security station in Ramadi.
Six Seconds on April 22, 2008
That morning a large blue truck turned into the narrow street leading to the checkpoint and began to pick up speed. It was carrying an estimated 2,000 pounds of explosives. Some of the Iraqi police at the post fired at it and then ran for cover before the blast. Yale and Haerter did not move.
The two Marines raised their weapons and fired steadily into the oncoming truck, aiming for the driver. Their fire stopped the vehicle short of the compound gate. Moments later the driver detonated his load. The massive explosion killed both Marines, destroyed or damaged nearby buildings and left a huge crater in the road. Behind the barrier, the Marines and Iraqi police inside the station survived.
General Kelly’s Account
Much of what the public knows about that morning comes from John F. Kelly, then a Marine major general commanding coalition forces in western Iraq. Because there were no surviving American eyewitnesses, Kelly went to Ramadi himself the next day and interviewed the Iraqi police, then recommended both Marines for the Navy Cross. Footage from a security camera later confirmed what the police had told him: the truck took only about six seconds to reach the post, and the two Marines never stopped firing.
Kelly told their story in a now-famous speech to the Semper Fi Society in St. Louis in November 2010, only days after his own son, Marine First Lieutenant Robert Kelly, was killed in Afghanistan. He described the six seconds in detail and praised the two young men who had no time to talk it over and still chose to hold their ground. His words spread widely and helped make Yale and Haerter two of the best-known Marines of the Iraq War.
The Navy Cross
Both Marines were posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, the nation’s second-highest award for valor in combat for members of the Navy and Marine Corps. The medals were presented to their families in February 2009. Their citations credit them with stopping the attack and saving the lives of their fellow Marines and the Iraqi police.
Haerter was laid to rest in Oakland Cemetery in his hometown of Sag Harbor, which has honored him in many ways over the years. Their story has also inspired new work, including The 11th Order, a short film by Marine veteran Joshua DeFour that was a semifinalist for the 2019 Student Academy Awards.
Why Their Story Still Matters
Jonathan Yale and Jordan Haerter came from different backgrounds and had met only days before, but they shared the same oath and the same training. When the moment came, neither hesitated. Their stand is a reminder that the Marine Corps’ motto, Semper Fidelis, “Always Faithful,” is more than words. It describes men who will give everything for the people beside them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who were Jonathan Yale and Jordan Haerter?
Jonathan Yale was a 21-year-old Marine corporal from Virginia, and Jordan Haerter was a 19-year-old lance corporal from Sag Harbor, New York. Both were killed on April 22, 2008, while stopping a suicide truck bomb in Ramadi, Iraq.
What happened in Ramadi on April 22, 2008?
A suicide bomber drove a truck carrying about 2,000 pounds of explosives toward a joint security station in Ramadi. Yale and Haerter fired on the truck and stopped it before it reached the compound, and it exploded at their post.
How many lives did Yale and Haerter save?
About 150 Marines and Iraqi police were inside the compound the two men were guarding. Their actions are credited with saving those lives.
What medal did Yale and Haerter receive?
Both Marines were posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, the second-highest award for combat valor in the Navy and Marine Corps.
What is the “six seconds” speech?
It is a November 2010 speech by then Lt. Gen. John Kelly describing how the attack unfolded in about six seconds and how the two Marines never left their post. It is one of the most widely shared tributes to Marines of the Iraq War.
What units did Yale and Haerter serve in?
Corporal Yale served with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, and Lance Corporal Haerter served with the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines.
Honor Our Marines
The courage of Yale and Haerter belongs to a long tradition of Marine heroism. Learn more about that tradition in The United States Marine Corps: Valor and History and Goodnight Chesty Puller, Wherever You Are. Show your pride in the Corps with our U.S. Marine Corps Double-Sided Embroidered Flag or the Marines Devil Dogs Flag, and remember all who gave everything with our Double-Sided POW-MIA Flag.
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