Marine Cpl. Jordan R. Stanton

Remember Our Heroes

Marine Cpl. Jordan R. Stanton, 20, of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.

Cpl Stanton was assigned to the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died March 4, 2011 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations.

Since his deployment to Afghanistan in November, Cpl. Jordan R. Stanton was only able to speak to his father twice, most recently a week ago.

"I got a satellite call from him Wednesday morning, for just two or three minutes," Robert Stanton said. "I got to tell him I love him, and it was great. He was happy." Jordan Stanton shared a few brief moments by phone that day with his father, mother and fiancée.

Two days later, on Friday, Jordan Stanton was killed during combat operations in Helmand Province.

Stanton, 20, joined the Marine Corps in April 2008. He enrolled early, just before his 2008 graduation from Trabuco Hills High School. Stanton had applied to several different colleges – and was accepted to all – but his heart was set on joining the military, his father said.

Jordan Stanton first expressed interest in the military when he was 15 years old and began researching the different branches. Stanton had looked up to his maternal grandfather Jim Reynolds, a Vietnam veteran, as a hero and an inspiration. And though his parents didn't know it at the time, their son had also befriended a retired naval captain at the gym whom he viewed as a mentor.

"He knew he wanted to do this," Robert Stanton said. "He wanted to do something special, on his own. He was a little older than his years in high school – he matured a little faster."

Preparation to become a U.S. Marine is physically strenuous, but Jordan Stanton was a natural-born athlete. He played baseball, football and wrestled, and even tried skateboarding and sports in between. Though he was extremely skilled in sports, said his father, he wouldn't let his athleticism define him, eventually breaking away from sports to pursue "a more certain path."

His athletic strength was but one of the qualities friends and family remember about the Marine. He always had a smile on his face, with a fun-loving personality people couldn't help but gravitate toward. He was simply an all-American kid full of energy and life.

Jordan Stanton was well-liked in school. Childhood friend Zach Vosough said he always enjoyed seeing his buddy because "you couldn't hang out with Jordan Stanton and not have a good time." Beyond his easygoing nature, Stanton was incredibly trustworthy and faithful, Vosough said. He was not one to leave commitments unfulfilled.

"He was always incredibly disciplined even before he was in the Marines," Vosough said. "He's someone who knew what he wanted and would do what it took to go get it."

Jordan Stanton attended boot camp and was stationed at Camp Pendleton until fall 2009 when he was permanently stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C. He was promoted to corporal on July 1.

He became an assistant team leader – a very natural position for him, his father said – assigned to the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force. Jordan Stanton was sent to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom on his first deployment in November.

He has been awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

But despite his accomplishments, Jordan Stanton was humble, said his father.

"It's the people who are alive and left behind who are Marines out there – or airmen, or soldiers – who really deserve the attention right now," Robert Stanton said. "My son would be angry if we gave him too much."

In his immediate family, Jordan Stanton is survived by his father, Robert, his mother, Joyce, his brothers Ryan, Ethan and Cole, and his fiancée Julie Dickson.

Marine Cpl. Jordan R. Stanton was killed in action on 3/4/11.