Short Film Planned On Heroism Of Lance Cpl. Haerter and Cpl. Yale

In a speech to the Semper Fi Society of St. Louis on November 13, 2010, then-Major General John F. Kelly—now the White House chief of staff—succinctly summed up the final moments in the lives of Lance Corporal Jordan C. Haerter and Corporal Jonathan T. Yale, young Marines who died in service to their country a decade ago:“Six seconds. Not enough time to think about their families, their country, their flag, their lives or their deaths. But more than enough time for two very, very brave young men to do their duty into eternity. That is the kind of people who are on watch all over the world for us this afternoon.”

The speech was made in honor of Lance Cpl. Haerter, a 19-year-old Sag Harbor-raised Marine, and Cpl. Yale, 21, of Burkeville, Virginia. They were killed in Ramadi, Iraq, on April 22, 2008, after stopping a suicide bomber in a truck from driving onto a military base and detonating explosives, thus saving the lives of their fellow Marines on base. The two shot at the truck as it was hurtling toward their guard post, and the ensuing explosion claimed their lives.

Their bravery and the dramatic final moments of their lives would certainly warrant dynamic camera angles, expensive staged explosions and the kind of glorification only the silver screen can provide, and indeed, many filmmakers have been interested in telling their story, including Joshua DeFour. But, unlike others, Mr. DeFour is not interested in focusing on those final moments as he works on his short film, “The 11th Order.” Rather, he wants to focus on their personal lives and what brought them to that moment. His focus is fueled, in part, by General Kelly’s speech.

Speaking over the phone earlier this month, Mr. DeFour said a former Marine told him in November 2016 to read General Kelly’s speech about the two Marines, and he was fascinated by how quickly the two men from two different walks of life made the decision to put their lives on the line.

“The story really moved me,” Mr. DeFour said. “For the next week, I couldn’t put it out of my mind and I knew that it would be a huge step ahead to try to make something like that, and if I walked away from it, I wouldn’t really forgive myself. I felt that I had a responsibility knowing I could make it—no one else had—and that the story should be shared.”

According to the 28-year-old writer/director, who is currently a student of the University of Texas at Austin’s Master of Fine Arts program, the movie’s title comes from the last of the Marines’ 11 General Orders of a Sentry: “To be especially watchful at night and, during the time for challenging, to challenge all persons on or near my post and to allow no one to pass without proper authority.”

Mr. DeFour is still crowdfunding to pay for remaining elements of his movie’s production to tell the story of Lance Cpl. Haerter and Cpl. Yale. He’s also doing it as a fellow military man—he served as a combat videographer for the Marines and first heard the story of the two Marines in military circles.

Mr. DeFour’s first big hurdle to clear was getting permission from Lance Cpl. Haerter’s and Cpl. Yale’s families. JoAnn Lyles, Lance Cpl. Haerter’s mother, said this month that Mr. DeFour contacted her over Facebook more than a year ago about his movie, saying he wanted to meet her for an interview about her son. Mr. DeFour even participated in the first Jordan’s Veterans Memorial 5K run in Sag Harbor in 2017. Ms. Lyles said that she had been approached about five years ago to sign over the rights to her son’s story, and she declined to do so because she said she didn’t feel comfortable putting his story out there for profit. Speaking with Mr. DeFour and hearing his intentions made her reconsider.

“I felt very comfortable because one, he’s a Marine still. You can’t say former Marine, that’s not allowed. And because it’s a student film, it’s not for profit,” Ms. Lyles said. “That felt better for me, and he made the effort of flying out here from Texas. That felt pretty good too. He wants to honor the Corps, tell the truth, not glorify the incident but learn about Jordan as a regular guy.”

Mr. DeFour confirmed Ms. Lyles’s impressions.

“We make it very clear that we’re not making a war movie. We’re making a human condition film that takes place in the context of war,” he said. “The film is about the two men, the relationship to each other and how their actual personalities fit into the actions that they took. My focus is less on making a war movie than it is actually making a traditional drama.”

Ms. Lyles then put Mr. DeFour in touch with Rebecca Yale, Jonathan’s mother, and he spoke to her over the phone to get her blessing for the film. Mr. DeFour said he then talked to about a dozen more family members and friends of Lance Cpl. Haerter and Cpl. Yale to get an idea of the nuances and specific qualities of the Marines. He noted how both men had very positive attitudes, describing Cpl. Yale in particular as “really goofy,” always with a smile on his face, and a fan of extreme sports. Lance Cpl. Haerter, on the other hand, had a pilot’s license for flying and was a good student at Pierson High School—someone who seemingly had a wide array of options available to him after high school.

“From an outside perspective, he would be expected to go to college,” Mr. DeFour said. “He had visited the Twin Towers about a month before they fell and that never left his mind. It was one of his motivations to join the Marines; he wanted to do something to fill his part. I think he never really got over [the September 11 attacks], and I think that a lot of people have said, ‘OK, well he’s clean-cut and he’s motivated,’ but it’s interesting how much he chose to redirect his life in order to do something he felt like he should do.”

Mr. DeFour said that he’s spent the last three months casting roles and finding actual Marines to serve as extras in the film to add to its authenticity, though he said that the role of Lance Cpl. Haerter has not been cast yet. An Indiegogo campaign was first started to raise $60,000, a goal that Mr. DeFour said was met. While he wouldn’t say what the total production budget of the film is, Mr. DeFour added that he’s still putting together a full crew for the movie and is again crowdfunding to cover unexpected production costs, including the film’s planned set locations in San Diego, California, and Austin, Texas. One of these pricey sets, depicting Iraq during the Iraq War, was used for “American Sniper,” a 2014 biopic about the life of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. What remains to be done is coordinating stunts, ensuring fire marshals are available on set in case of emergencies, and mapping out scenes to ensure the movie flows properly.

“I’ve gone to a lot of film festivals and seen a lot of terrible military short films made by people who may have had good intentions but didn’t do their research,” Mr. DeFour said. “When we did accept the project, one of the most important aspects for me was to make sure that it was exactly how it was supposed to be, down to the uniform items, the way they talk and walk. I feel like if you cut a corner here and there, it really takes away from what they felt when they were there.”

Throughout all of this meticulous planning, Ms. Lyles said Mr. DeFour kept in contact with her via phone calls, Facebook and emails. She even credited Mr. DeFour for sending her the first draft of the movie’s script so she could make notes.

“He appreciates it if I read something and just say, ‘Jordan didn’t do that that way,’ and he’ll correct it.” Ms. Lyles said. “Josh said, ‘So many times you read a book and you got the character in your head, then you see the movie and that character is not him at all.’ I just hope they cast somebody that’s a good-looking, all-American boy.”

The knowledge that a film is being made about her son’s life and death could be tough to bear, but Ms. Lyles said that it’s not difficult for her to talk about Jordan and the movie, saying that her son is “always with me.” She’s also hopeful that the film will bring awareness about the sacrifices made by members of the military.

“I hope that more people will learn the story of real heroes, not fiction or Superman,” she said. “Everyday Americans might learn what the 2 percent might do for them.”

For Mr. DeFour, focusing on what Lance Cpl. Haerter and Cpl. Yale maybe couldn’t think about in those final six seconds of lives—their families, their country, their lives—and honoring them in a way that makes those they left behind feel proud is the ultimate goal.

“The thing that was said the most between both mothers that was really important and I thought was very interesting and telling was that they did not want to glorify them,” Mr. DeFour said. “They wanted us to show them as real people. They requested that we not turn them into superheroes. I really respected that a lot. So we show them as a 19- and 20-year-old out in the middle of Iraq. This film is very real and that includes not making them embellished.”

Those interested in donating to the project can visit filmmakerscollab.org/films/the-11th-order/ for more information.