Write to our troops in Iraq, and say thanks

I have covered sports for The Herald for 22 years. I like doing high school games where there is a winner and a loser. I get a kick out of seeing kids grow up on the field or on the court year after year. I always root for our local schools if they are playing someone outside The Herald's reading area, although I probably shouldn't.

Likewise, I pull for our troops in Iraq. That is something we all should do. They do not have home-field advantage. There likely will not be a clear winner.

There are some at The Herald for whom I have great respect because they cover news items without winners and losers. I admire the way Andrew Dys can describe a happening. Like the way he wrote about my nephew, Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter (That Kid with the Frosty Grew into a Hero, May 3).

Jordan, 19, was killed April 22 in Iraq. He and Corporal Jonathan Yale, 21, of Virginia were at a security checkpoint outside the compound where 33 fellow Marines were stationed. They opened fire on a dump truck filled with explosives. Jordan took out the driver, the truck detonated, both were left dead.

I've had so many emotions run through my mind since this tragedy. Anger that Jordan died so young; sadness that my sister lost her only child; compassion for his girlfriend on Long Island; sorrow for those close to him still fighting in Iraq; and frustration that I can't help my sister more.

The more I think all of this through it makes me wonder if maybe there are some winners, albeit different from those in athletics.

Rock Hill is a winner in my mind and my heart. I've been showered with phone calls, cards, e-mails and hugs since my wife, Candace, and I returned from a week with my sister. Then, fittingly, many of our hometown heroes returned from Afghanistan.

How about Fort Mill? My folks, Jack and Eleanor Lyles, live there. Ask them to show you the stack of cards they received. They will tell you about the support they have at St. John's United Methodist on Tom Hall Street, neighbors in Fort Mill and friends across the country.

I wish I could describe in words the town of Sag Harbor, N.Y., Jordan's hometown, where they have rallied around their young hero. The place has embraced my sister, will dedicate a monument to her son and rename a bridge to honor him.

Memorial Day is a time to remember all the winners who have sacrificed so much for our country and for our freedom. But we still have a lot of people to bring home.

If you have someone over there in that desert, write them often and say thanks. If you don't, I have a list of Marines' addresses you can write to who have lost a great friend, my nephew, Jordan Haerter.

They would love to hear from you.

This story was originally published May 25, 2008 at 11:42 PM with the headline "Write to our troops in Iraq, and say thanks."