Incredible faith and incredible strength – that’s how his comrades and loved ones remember Jordan Morris.

The 23-year-old Stillwater man with a bright smile and quick wit, lived life with zeal and passion before he died after a roadside bomb detonated in Afghanistan on August, 11, 2011.

Morris was manning a .50-caliber machine gun atop a Humvee on a mission in Kandahar province when the bomb killed all five aboard.

On Memorial Day, people celebrate those who fought for their country and gave their lives defending freedom. Their loved ones, though, have stories to tell and retell. 

“Jordan and all those who gave their lives in defense of our country … were real people with family and friends, unique stories, hopes, dreams and emotions like anyone else,” said Brian Maddox, who met Morris while they were cadets in the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. “Those who died in combat, like Jordan, sacrificed all of those very real and important aspects of life so that we might enjoy our freedom. The family and friends of those fallen heroes carry that sacrifice forever. The incredible part about the Morris family is how they carry that burden with pride, love, faith, and strength.”

More than 6,880 U.S. service members have died while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan since 9/11.

“Grief is a place I’ll visit but I won’t take up residence there,” said Jordan’s mother, Nita Morris, who still had two sons to care for, Levi and Jesse, who were 16 and 7 years old, when her oldest died.

Jordan loved spending time outdoors fishing with his family, rock climbing, playing baseball and goofing off with his brothers. He knew in eighth grade that he wanted to attend West Point, his mother recalled.

His hard work, including early morning summer Bible study, community involvement and late-night homework sessions, paid off. 

When the Ripley High class of 2006 graduate and former student council president, who showed cattle and participated in Boys State, was accepted into the West Point, it was a dream come true.

In his application essay, Morris wrote, “Attending West Point is not about the opportunity for individual success, it is about becoming a leader who will help others succeed. I have always believed it is the duty of the strong to assist and protect the weak. It is my desire to cultivate my strengths so I may serve others.”

He also wrote of patriotism.

“My family believes in America and the American dream. My grandfather came to America after his homeland (Holland) was liberated by American troops during WWII. His appreciation for the sacrifices and courage of Allied forces has influenced my attitude toward military service,” Morris wrote.

Morris studied mechanical engineering during four years at West Point and made friends during Officer’s Christian Fellowship gatherings and weekly Bible study.

But the dream of service hit a roadblock. Three weeks before graduation he was dismissed after failing to attribute a source on a class assignment – a violation of the school’s strict honor code.

He was placed in a mentorship program and encouraged to reapply for West Point after a year in the enlisted ranks.

Not one to complain or disobey orders, Morris focused on being the best soldier he could.

“I always told him his attitude was his greatest attribute because he was positive, Nita Morris said. “He was always looking forward and making the best of things and never complaining.”

He gutted his way through a second basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia in January 2011, and was assigned to Fort Drum, New York.

He left for Afghanistan in May, catching up with his infantry regiment, which was taking casualties.

While battling the enemy in the hot, foreign land, his aspiration was to return to West Point for one semester and earn his commission.

Hit by an explosive while out in a convoy, Morris and four other soldiers died that day, just a few months into his deployment.

His mother now wears the crucifix he wore when he died.

Nine days after the blast, hundreds of onlookers waving American flags lined the streets of Stillwater during Morris’ funeral procession and burial.

Though nearly five years have passed since Jordan was killed, his father, Brett Morris, wiped tears from his eyes recently when thinking of support the community showed at his boy’s funeral.

Friends who served alongside Jordan said the smiling specialist was a good man to have around in a firefight.

“He always had a way of cheering the guys up, no matter what the situation was,” then-Staff Sgt. Eric Gregory wrote in a letter to the Morris family following Jordan’s death. “If anyone needed anything, he was there, always putting others before himself.”

Morris’ platoon leader, then-2nd Lt. Sam Freakley, who had known Jordan since their time together at West Point, wrote in a letter that he “lived and died a hero.”

Brett Morris said their common faith in God and knowing that he will see his son again makes the pain of losing Jordan bearable.

“Jordan had accepted Jesus Christ,” Brett Morris said. “He was a faithful Christian.”

His memory lives on.

A framed color picture of Jordan, who played varsity baseball at Ripley for three years, is displayed near the home team dugout behind home plate.

The Jordan Morris Memorial Fund helped pay for a new roof over the baseball bleachers about three years ago.

A seven-mile stretch of State Highway 108 from Ripley north to State Highway 51 was named in his honor on Veterans Day 2012. 

Two Junior Beef Cattle exhibitors awards are now given out in Jordan’s honor, as are two 4-H citizenship awards.

Both Nita and Brett said they are thankful for those that have reached out to them over the years. They have learned Jordan’s life, albeit far too short, was not without influence.

John Gordon, who had many classes at West Point with Morris, wrote his parents after the bomb blast, expressing how highly he thought of Morris as a friend and soldier.

“To those who love our country and respect the sacrifices of others; Jordan, all the others who have given their lives, and especially the families of those soldiers, are the most patriotic Americans of us all and deserve our nation’s respect, gratitude, and thanks,” Gordon wrote.