In the summers, the kid named Jordan would come down from his tiny town of 2,359 people on southeastern Long Island to the almost as small town of Fort Mill.

His grandparents, Fort Mill residents Jack and Ellie Lyles, would show off the grandson and take him to a place that doesn't exist in his hometown, where chain stores are banned: Wendy's restaurant, for a Frosty. Family members recall those kinds of details about Jordan, who grew into a man named Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, U.S. Marine, and who got killed saving other people from a suicide bomber.

The kid with the Frosty did that last week in Iraq. He had been in Iraq exactly one month. He was 19 years old.

That day Haerter died, he was working security. A truck with a bomb that weighed a ton broke through the first level of security. Behind the fence were so many Marines and others. In between was Haerter.

Haerter, a top shooter in his platoon with the awards to prove it, "did his job, took out the driver," said his uncle, Karl Lyles of Rock Hill.

The truck blew up and killed Haerter and another Marine named Yale. There were civilian casualties, too.

But Haerter saved everybody else.

Word got around St. John's United Methodist Church in Fort Mill, where Jack and Ellie are longtime members. Neighbors, friends, found out.

Haerter's heroism spanned oceans to Long Island. People heard Haerter flew solo in an airplane before he was old enough to drive.

As a kid, he tried to open a bagel delivery business -- by boat, to service the rich yachts tied up near his mother's little two-bedroom house -- before government red tape stopped him. Also, he delivered dry cleaning in his truck to make a few dollars.

People heard how his mother, JoAnn, once made him a military costume for Halloween. How he researched, at age 7, what buttons were right and demanded the right buttons for his uniform. The town of Sag Harbor already knew Haerter joined the Marines right after high school graduation in 2006.

In the Marines, Haerter was immediately recognized for his leadership. When other recruits asked for magazines -- most asked for Sports Illustrated or something racy -- Haerter asked for "Time Magazine." When a drill instructor asked the platoon who the secretary of defense was, all but one answered, "Rumsfeld, sir!" Haerter had to tell even the drill instructor that Rumsfeld was gone.

Family from York County immediately went to the small town of Sag Harbor after the death. What family found were streets lined with people two and three deep saluting them.

Little kids wore trash bags over their clothes so they could stand in the rain with flags. Newsday, the big Long Island newspaper, had Haerter stories at least three days, including cover stories with pictures and headlines with the word "Hero." The small papers also wrote wonderful stories and took so many pictures.

"We were overawed by it all," Jack Lyles said. "There were these repair vans in front of the motorcade. They pulled off into a lot. The men got out and stood at the side of the road and put their hands over their hearts."

"People were so generous," Ellie Lyles said.