Home is where the heart aches

They lined Sag Harbor's Main Street by the hundreds, some with their hands over their hearts, others clutching American flags. Then, as the body of Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter traveled by in a hearse, many began wiping away tears.

For a few minutes yesterday, the village's normally vibrant business district was solemn and mournful as a large crowd turned out to watch a police motorcade escort the 19-year-old Marine killed last week in Iraq to the Yardley & Pino Funeral Home.

"The hardest part was watching 80-year-old men cry," said Allison Disbrow, 37, herself still in tears after the procession. "Having a casualty of war isn't something anyone was ready for."

Haerter was killed Tuesday in a suicide bomb attack in Iraq and was hailed as a hero for firing a shot that diverted the attacker from killing several other Marines, relatives said. He was the 30th Long Islander to die in the Iraq war and the first Sag Harbor resident to die in combat since World War II, local veterans groups said, though the military could not confirm that yesterday.

Sag Harbor's outpouring of emotion marked the end of a long journey for Haerter's body, which had arrived early yesterday morning at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware after a flight from Kuwait.

A police motorcade involving more than a dozen law enforcement agencies from four states accompanied the hearse on the roughly 275-mile, six-hour drive from Dover to Sag Harbor. Police, firefighters and veterans groups showed up on the roadside at several points along the way, standing at stiff attention and displaying American flags.

On the Southern State Parkway near the Nassau-Suffolk border, dozens of state troopers stood somberly on the side of the road, their police vehicle lights flashing as Haerter's body passed. In Southampton, a sign was hung from an overpass on Sunrise Highway, calling Haerter a "hero."

"The community support has been a comfort to the family during this most difficult time," said Haerter's aunt, Barbara Haerter. "A big comfort."

On a breezy morning yesterday in Sag Harbor, residents showed up early to await the procession. Huge American flags were draped across the facades of Village Hall and the American Hotel. Another was hung over Main Street by two ladder trucks from the Sag Harbor and East Hampton volunteer fire departments.

A hush fell over the crowd as police motorcycles leading the procession passed Sag Harbor's Civil War veterans memorial and entered the business district. As the hearse traveled by, some veterans offered a quiet military salute: "Huzzah."

Then the motorcade turned a corner and vanished from view. The crowd lingered for another half-hour, watching the fire department carefully fold the flag and reminiscing about a good-natured boy everyone seemed to know.

"I remember his smile," said Mike Radziewicz, 53, recalling Haerter's bright and easy grin. "Everybody in the village loved him  and everybody in the village liked him."

Haerter joined the Marines three months after his graduation from Pierson High School and was deployed a month ago to provide security at military checkpoints near the western Iraq city of Ramadi, where the attack occurred. He ultimately planned to return home and become a Sag Harbor police officer, his family said.

Haerter's family gathered yesterday at the funeral home to make plans for today's wake from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. and for Monday's funeral at 11 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church on Union Street. The Marine's parents, Christian Haerter and JoAnn Lyles, viewed his body, family members said, their first look at him since he was sent to Iraq a month ago.

Outside the funeral home, Haerter's uncle, Martin Haerter, 53, of East Northport, called Jordan "an outstanding young man. Loyal to his friends, his family and loyal to the Marines."

Kenny Porpora contributed to this story.

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS

Funeral arrangements for Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter

Visitation is today from 2 to 9 p.m. at Yardley & Pino Funeral Home, 91 Hampton

St., Sag Harbor.

Funeral services are 11 a.m. tomorrow at First Presbyterian Church, Union

Street, Sag Harbor. Burial is in Oakland Cemetery in Sag Harbor.

 Kenny Porpora contributed to this story.