Marines and Navy Corpsmen Run for Jordan Haerter

On May 24 and 25, Sag Harbor-based Jordan’s Initiative and Hope For The Warriors will be hosting 35 members of the 3rd Battalion 25th Marines in Sag Harbor. The battalion suffered 48 casualties in Iraq—46 Marines and two Navy corpsmen—one of the highest casualty rates of the war for a single battalion.

On Saturday, May 25, the soldiers will be running from the Montauk Lighthouse to Ground Zero in Manhattan as a tribute to their fallen comrades and to honor the sacrifice of local heroes Jordan Haerter and Joey Theinert, who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, respectively. They will also be running in honor of the brave first responders lost on 9/11.

Their route will take them from Montauk, through Sag Harbor, over the LCpl Jordan Haerter Veterans’ Memorial Bridge, down Main Street and on to Ground Zero. The run will commence in Montauk at 7 a.m. on Saturday and will continue at a steady pace of about one mile every 10 minutes, until it ends 26 hours later at Ground Zero.

“They had known of Jordan‘s story and they wanted to honor him,” Christian Haerter, Jordan Haerter‘s father, said, explaining how the 3rd Battalion 25th Marines chose to run in Sag Harbor. The Haerter family is hosting the soldiers during their brief stay in the Hamptons, and will bring them to a meet and greet event at the Sag Harbor American Legion on Friday, May 24.

In order to honor the runners and to pay tribute to our military heroes on Memorial Day, Jordan’s Initiative would like to have 48 military veterans hold flags along the bridge while the Marines go by. The 48 flags will represent the 48 souls that were lost by the members of 3/25.

Veterans or active duty military members who would like to hold the flags are asked to contact Jordan’s Initiative at 631-725-2489 or email Christian Haeter at christian.haerter@gmail.com. Flag holders must be available on Saturday, May 25 from 10–11 a.m. After the run, the flags will be donated to the Village of Sag Harbor, where they will fly proudly on Main Street for years to come.