Every where the young Private First Class went in Vietnam, there was rain. Lots and lots of rain. It was raining when he got up, it rained on him all day long, and it was raining when he went to bed. In fact, it rained so much that he told his mother that there were frogs all around; in his tent, in his sleeping bag, in the mess tent, in the latrine, and in the showers.
Kathleen Jordan remembers that she had to sign for her son to join the military when he was 17 because that is all he wanted to do. However, after he got to Vietnam, he discovered that he did not want to make the military his career.
Jerry grew up in the Tradesville community in Buford, South Carolina and attended Buford High School. His family moved to Union County, North Carolina while he was in high school, consequently he graduated from Parkwood High School.
He was born on August 1, 1948, the son of Jerry A. Laney and Kathleen Starnes Laney Jordan. He had two brothers, Larry Laney and Bobby Laney and three sisters, Linda Laney Hildreth, Lottie Laney Watkins, and Joyce Laney Jenkins.
Jerry entered the Army on February 20, 1968, completed his basic training at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He was assigned to Company B, 3rd Battalion, 1st Infantry when he arrived in Vietnam on September 1, 1968. He was assigned the job of a grenadier, which is an infantry man who throws grenades.
The Army told the family that Jerry "died on January 15, 1969 as a result of wounds received while on a combat operation when engaged with a hostile force in a fire fight". He was killed while working as a grenadier with the 11th Infantry Brigade near Duc Pho, Vietnam.
Jerry received the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and other medals whose names his mother did not remember. He is buried at Lakeland Memorial Cemetery in Monroe.
His family remembers him as a happy person, who enjoyed life, and made everyone around him laugh. They told me that they still miss him very much.