Jordan Haerter Monument in Sag Harbor Rededicated, Just Hours After Father's Death

The appearance of a red granite monument at Windmill Beach in Sag Harbor two weeks ago had people talking. Some asked if it was new, and others asked if it had been moved there.

As workers bustled about last week, laying stone around its base, installing an ornamental chain barrier, and planting three shade trees and a selection of pink roses and other flowers, an explanation followed.

The monument had been erected as a memorial to Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter, who died in Iraq at the age of 19 on April 22, 2008, just a month after being deployed there.

Haerter and his fellow Marine, Corporal Jonathan Yale, were killed when a suicide bomber detonated a truck full of explosives near their guard post. Their quick reaction prevented the vehicle from hitting its main target, a nearby barracks that housed about 150 other soldiers and Iraqi police officers.

The monument had been paid for by Jordan’s father, Christian Haerter, and placed next to the Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter Memorial Bridge. But over the years, it had been obscured by fast-growing juniper bushes to the point that it was no longer visible from the street.

Christian Haerter, who had been diagnosed with cancer a year ago, had made it a goal to have the monument presented in a more visible way before his death.

Haerter, 65, got his wish — although he died early Monday morning at the Kanas Center for Hospice Care on Quiogue without getting to see it in person, and just hours before a crowd gathered at the site for a brief rededication ceremony.

Among those in the audience of about 75 people were Christian Haerter’s two sisters, Karin and Ursula Haerter, and Ursula Haerter’s husband, Mike Gamache.

“I believe somewhere that Chris is back united with Jordan, and that they are present with us here today,” said Mayor Tom Gardella, who thanked the crews that worked overtime the previous week to prepare the monument for the dedication ceremony.

“Today, as we are here to rededicate this monument to the memory of Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter,” said the Reverend Nancy Remkus, “we remember the years that he lived right here in Sag Harbor, and I think we can feel his spirit and his presence resting here among us as he looks down upon us today.

“There is no knowing why someone is called to give all of his life to save the lives of others, but somehow, beyond our understanding, this was Jordan’s call,” she continued.

She noted that Christian Haerter and JoAnn Lyles had paid “the supreme sacrifice in losing their only child,” and she offered hope that father and son would be reunited “in a place beyond the stars.”

Gardella said that he had gotten the word less than two weeks ago, from Christian Haerter’s wife, Michelle Severance, that his condition was grave and that time was of the essence.

They both thanked those who worked so quickly to prepare the site, including stone mason Mike Ruddy, Tom Schreiber of Peterson Irrigation, Declan Blackmore and Eddie Corcoran of Summerhill Landscaping and landscape architect Ed Hollander.

Severance said Haerter had begun discussing a redesign about two years ago, but he held off, waiting to see the completion of John Steinbeck Waterfront Park and a proposed walkway under the bridge along Windmill Beach. But once it became clear he did not have much time to live, everybody involved worked as fast as possible to complete the project.

Lyles did not speak, but she lingered at the site. After laying a bouquet of flowers at the monument, she said, “I love how from down the street you can see the bay and the monument.”