PEKIN, IL, US
U.S. Marine Corps
LCPL, 3RD BN 7TH MAR, (II MEF FWD) 1ST MAR DIV, TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA
10/23/2011, HELMAND PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN
LCPL Bastean was born March 10, 1992 in Peoria, IL to Steven Phillip and Kathy Rae (Leichtenberg) Bastean. He was a 2010 graduate of Pekin Community High School. During his time at PCHS, he was a four year cadet of the JROTC and captain of the Air Rifle Team. Jordan also ran track and cross country.
Jordan’s father Steve Bastean best describes LCPL Bastean and how this HERO affected his life:
Steve Bastean remembered his son returning his Jeep after a day of four-wheeling. “He brought it back with 4 inches of mud inside. Jordan simply said: ‘Dad, it’s a Jeep; it’s supposed to get dirty.’ It had a broken transmission, a broken engine. I laughed and then fixed it,” Steve Bastean sighed.
It’s that memory, he says that sums up his son. But, as a father he has many moments with Jordan to cherish.
There’s the goofy smile, the cowboy hat, the love of monster trucks, and of course, the Marines. It’s what 19 year old Jordan wanted to do, be a Marine because, according to Steve Bastean, “they were the toughest.”
His singular drive to serve his nation inspired his father, who enlisted in the U.S. Army in the fall of 2011, and completed boot camp shortly after that. Steve Bastean is a private serving with the 82nd Airborne, Fort Bragg, N.C. He explained that at 40 he left civilian life and a good job because of his son’s example.
“He inspired me. Fathers are supposed to inspire their kids to look up to them. Well, my son is my hero and what I look up to,” said Steve Bastean.
“My son and I had a father-son relationship, but we were also friends. This was something that kept us together. We could go for a run in the park and I could keep up with him and he could keep up with me.”
When asked if there was any inter-service rivalry, Steve Bastean laughed.
“Oh, yes, Jordan made sure the Marines were well represented,” he said, noting his son outranked him as long as they were in uniform.
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