Hometown: Pekin, IL
Branch: U.S. Marine Corps
Unit: 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force
Military Honors: Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal
Date of Sacrifice: October 23, 2011 - KIA in Afghanistan 
Age: 19
Conflict: War in Afghanistan, 2001-2021

Prior to his service, LCPL Jordan Bastean told his father that he wanted to join the Marines because “they were the toughest.” Bastean enlisted in the Marines before graduating from Pekin (IL) Community High School in 2010, where he was a four-year cadet of Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) and captain of the Air Rifle Team.

Bastean joined the Marine Corps in July, 2010 with the 1st Marine Division and completed recruit training at MCRD (Marine Corps Recruit Depot) in San Diego, California. While in boot camp Bastean was the platoon high shooter and the second-highest shooter in the company.

Following recruit training, he attended School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton, California where he earned the MOS (Military Occupation Specialty) of 0351 Infantry Assaultman. He reported to the Weapons Platoon, India Company, 3rd Battalion 7th Marines at Twentynine Palms, California. There he was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal on April 1, 2011.

Bastean served his country with pride and distinction as a member of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment of 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force.

On October 23rd, 2011, LCPL Jordan Bastean died while serving in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He died during combat operations in Helmand Province—near the Pakistan border—just three weeks into his first deployment to Afghanistan.

His personal service awards include the Purple Heart for wounds received in action against the enemy, Combat Action Ribbon for service in Afghanistan, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with bronze campaign star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, NATO Medal ISAF, and Rifle Expert Badge (second award).

In a floor speech before the 115th Congress on March 5th, 2017, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL) remarked, “As an avid hunter, an athlete and a big fan of taking his dad’s jeep off-roading, he was the very definition of what it means to be a Midwesterner. And just like a lot of young men from the heartland, Jordan believed in service and he believed in being the best he could be. That’s why he joined the Marines. And, Lance Corporal Bastean’s commitment to service was so infectious, that his dad quit his job and followed him into the military.”

In 2019, the U.S. Post Office in his hometown of Pekin, Illinois was renamed “Lance Corporal Jordan S. Bastean Post Office” in his honor.

Sources
Peoria Journal Star, March 5, 2018: House passes bill to rename Pekin post office for fallen Marine
Washington Post—Faces of the Fallen: Lance Cpl. Jordan S. Bastean
San Diego Tribune, Oct. 24, 2011: Twentynine Palms Marine killed in Afghanistan: Lance Cpl. Jordan S. Bastean
AP News, July 26, 2018: Illinois post office to be named for Marine killed in combat
Burial Site: Find a Grave