10 Years Later: Enfield Remembers Marine GySgt Phillip Jordan

March 19 marked the 10th anniversary of the commencement of the Iraq War. Just four days after the outbreak of hostilities, Connecticut lost its first resident - Marine GySgt Phillip Jordan of Enfield.

On March 23, 2003, during an assault on Nasiriyah, Iraq, Jordan's weapons platoon came under heavy machine gun and mortar fire. Jordan directed accurate return mortar fire on the enemy and, despite a barrage of enemy fire, moved across open terrain to resupply mortar ammunition. After making three trips under heavy mortar and artillery fire, he was killed along with three Marines when their position sustained a direct mortar hit.

Jordan was 42 years old when he was killed. For his actions, he was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, the nation's third-highest military honor for valor.

A native of Texas, Jordan had moved to Enfield with his wife Amanda and son Tyler, then 6, not long before he was deployed overseas for the final time. Regardless of how short his tenure was in town, Enfield has paid numerous tributes to its adopted son.

The Enfield Little League recognized Jordan as its annual Home Town Hero on Opening Day in 2003. In May 2011, the baseball fields at the Mark Twain Recreation Complex were named after Jordan and fellow Marine Philip Johnson, who was killed in Iraq in 2006.

A Facebook page entitled "Remembering GySgt Phil Jordan, USMC" contains stories and tributes to the brave Marine, and his name is engraved on the Veterans Monument in front of Town Hall. Finally, Jordan and other Enfield military members killed in action are remembered each December at the annual Wreaths Across America ceremony, held just yards from Jordan's final resting place in St. Patrick's King Street Cemetery.

On the tenth anniversary of his passing, please share your memories of Phillip Jordan, or send a message to his family, in the comments section below.