Local War Hero Honored with Memorial Painted onto Restored Truck

More than three years after his ultimate sacrifice in Iraq, , a rifleman with the 1st Battalion 9th Marines of the U.S. Marine Corps who was killed in action defending a security station from a suicide bomber, is being honored at Eastern Suffolk BOCES in a special way this Veterans Day.

A group of auto technology students at the H.B. Ward Technical and Academic Center, their instructor and representatives from Ohio Technical College, repaired a 1953 Dodge M37 Power Wagon purchased by Haerter's father and airbrushed a memorial to the fallen soldier on the hood of the truck.

Haerter's father, Christian, approached the school after he saw an article on the Humvee they worked on last year.

“This old military vehicle will serve as a visual reminder of all veterans and the ongoing needs they have after they return from war,” Haerter said. Haerter works with several , and said he would drive the vehicle in memorial parades to honor those who serve.

Haerter, 19, of Sag Harbor, and another Marine were guarding an Entry Control Point on April 22, 2008 when a truck sped toward the station and refused to stop. The two Marines stepped out in front of the truck and opened fire, however the bomb inside the truck exploded and they were killed.

Their sacrifice saved the lives of 33 Marines and 21 Iraqi police officers asleep inside the Security Station, according to a tribute website dedicated to Haerter. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal and Combat Action Ribbon, the Navy Cross, and several other awards.

“We have been working on this vehicle since September,” said instructor Mike O’Hara, adding that the class repaired electrical wiring, replaced seals, did exhaust work and "went over it from top to bottom."

“Almost every student has had a hand in making repairs to the Power Wagon," O'Hara said.

The students at H.B. Ward Tech said they were proud to have helped repair and paint the memorial truck.

“I did a lot of the electrical wiring and detail work,” said student Samantha Broadwater. "It was nice to have a hand in something like this.”