Just before 8 o'clock in the morning on April 22, 2008, a truck sped toward the entrance of the Nasser Joint Security Station in Ramadi, Iraq. It carried 2,000 pounds of explosives designed to detonate inside the compound, which was full of United States Marines, Iraqi police, and civilians.
But Lance Cpl. Jordan Christian Haerter would not allow that to happen.
In the span of just six seconds, he and Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale, who were guarding the checkpoint, opened fire and moved toward the truck until it stopped at the gate and detonated. The explosion claimed their lives but saved countless others. Haerter, a Sag Harbor native, was just 19 years old.
"I don't know how he could have done it," said his mother, JoAnn Lyles.
On the morning of July 26, 2026, the community where he grew up remembered Haerter's sacrifice with the annual Jordan's Run, a 5K run and walk. The race started at Pierson High School, where he graduated in 2006, looped over the Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter Veterans Memorial Bridge, named in his honor, and passed Oakland Cemetery, where he is buried.
"Just to keep Jordan's name known, it helps me, and then to do good for Jordan, because he had such a short life. We provide awards to anyone [graduating from high school who is] joining the military or law enforcement, because Jordan wanted to be a police officer. We've started at Pierson but now we're reaching out to other schools. We did Bridgehampton this year. We did East Hampton last year. So that feels good. We support the troops, send socks. It just feels good to me to be able to do that," Lyles said.
The race also raised $5,000 for Honor Flight Long Island, which takes veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit memorials for free. The donation from Jordan's Run will enable 10 veterans to take the trip.
RunSignup Photo
Penelope Greene of Noyac, a 2021 Pierson graduate who was an all-American at SUNY Geneseo, won the race in 17:13.77, a pace of 5:33 per mile. She was the first woman to win Jordan's Run outright since 2019, when Paige Duca, a Montauk part-timer, did it in 17:24.
Ari Benjamin of Sag Harbor, who leads youth running clinics here through Hampton Harriers, finished second and won the men's division in a time of 17:25.26. Edmar Gonzalez-Nateras, a 2025 Pierson graduate, was third, in 17:49.
Running at about half that pace, with a 45-pound rucksack on his back and carrying the American flag, Billy Richards, a veteran of the Marine Corps and the Army, crossed the finish line.
"This is the 862nd race I've run with the flag. I run with the pack to represent the emotional weight that our veterans carry, when they come home from active duty," Richards said. "I just got off a stretch where I've run 12 50Ks in 12 days. I'm a little banged up, but I'm still functional!"
"I'm trying to hit all 50 states by January. I've done 37 so far. After I got out of the military, I just needed a purpose. Running with the flag helped me feel like I was doing something again."
