Army Staff Sgt. Richard J. Jordan

Remember Our Heroes

Army Staff Sgt. Richard J. Jordan, 29, of Tyler, Texas

SSgt Jordan was assigned to 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas; died March 16, 2010 in Mosul, Iraq, of injuries sustained during a vehicle roll-over.

Bliss soldier killed in Iraq vehicle crash
The Associated Press

HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A 29-year-old Fort Bliss, Texas, soldier with ties to Michigan is dead after a vehicle rollover while serving in Iraq.

The Defense Department says Staff Sgt. Richard J. Jordan died March 16 of his injuries from the crash. The agency said he was from Tyler, Texas, but the Detroit News reported March 19 that he was from Harrison Township.

Sister-in-law Carin Poole told the newspaper that Jordan had two daughters — ages 9 and 2. She also said he had been an Army recruiter in Detroit before going to Iraq.

He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, out of Fort Bliss.

Fallen soldier ‘felt like he had to do his part’
The Associated Press

Richard Jordan always seemed to be putting his dimples to work, generating smiles wherever he went.

He loved playing jokes, and when he was the target of one, he rarely let it go without revenge, said Carin Poole, his sister-in-law.

“If he was around, you were going to have a good time,” she said.

Jordan, 29, of Tyler, Texas, died March 16 in Mosul, Iraq, of injuries suffered in a vehicle rollover. He was assigned to Fort Bliss.

He graduated in 1998 from Antioch Community High School in northeastern Illinois, where he played football as a defensive back and later returned as a volunteer assistant coach. He was a fan of sports, especially basketball.

The Ohio native joined the Army in 2003 and worked as a Detroit-area recruiter before moving to the infantry.

Jordan “felt like he had to do his part,” Poole said.

“He loved to help out people,” he said. “Even when he was in Iraq, he would be on Facebook and people would be encouraging him, but he would be doing more encouraging than them.”

Survivors include his wife, Jennifer, and daughters, 9-year-old Jazmine and 2-year-old Madison.

Army Staff Sgt. Richard J. Jordan was killed in action on 3/16/10.