America's North Shore Journal

Photos of Navy Cross award ceremony for Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, from Sag Harbor, N.Y., and Cpl. Jonathan Yale, from Burkeville, Va.

Those three words belong together. In the two hundred plus years that the United States Marines have served their country, the young men who served have lived up to every challenge and met every foe.

Jordan Haerter and Jon Yale went out for guard duty in the morning of April 22, 2008. Before nightfall, their actions would become the stuff of Marine legend. A hundred years from now, drill sergeants will use their names to inspire future generations of Marines.

It was a typical quiet morning on April 22, with the temperature intensifying as a bright orange sun emerged high from the horizon.

However, this morning would be different. Quickly it would turn chaotic, then tragic. Two Marines would gallantly sacrifice their lives so others could live.