Corporal Jason L. Dunham

[Vulture6]

The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to

CORPORAL
JASON L. DUNHAM
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

for service as set forth in the following

CITATION:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a Rifle Squad Leader, 4th Platoon, Company K, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines (Reinforced), Regimental Combat Team 7, First Marine Division (Reinforced), on 14 April 2004. Corporal Dunham's squad was conducting a reconnaissance mission in the town of Karabilah, Iraq, when they heard rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire erupt approximately two kilometers to the west. Corporal Dunham led his Combined Anti-Armor Team towards the engagement to provide fire support to their Battalion Commander's convoy, which had been ambushed as it was traveling to Camp Husaybah. As Corporal Dunham and his Marines advanced, they quickly began to receive enemy fire. Corporal Dunham ordered his squad to dismount their vehicles and led one of his fire teams on foot several blocks south of the ambushed convoy. Discovering seven Iraqi vehicles in a column attempting to depart, Corporal Dunham and his team stopped the vehicles to search them for weapons. As they approached the vehicles, an insurgent leaped out and attacked Corporal Dunham. Corporal Dunham wrestled the insurgent to the ground and in the ensuing struggle saw the insurgent release a grenade. Corporal Dunham immediately alerted his fellow Marines to the threat. Aware of the imminent danger and without hesitation, Corporal Dunham covered the grenade with his helmet and body, bearing the brunt of the explosion and shielding his Marines from the blast. In an ultimate and selfless act of bravery in which he was mortally wounded, he saved the lives of at least two fellow Marines. By his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty, Corporal Dunham gallantly gave his life for his country, thereby reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

First Long War Marine to receive Medal of Honor
By Staff Sgt. Scott Dunn, Headquarters Marine Corps


Quantico, VA (Nov. 10, 2006) -- A corporal who died shielding men in his care from a bursting grenade deserves America’s highest military decoration, President Bush has confirmed.

Actions by Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, who would have turned 25 today, merit the Medal of Honor, Bush said at the National Museum of the Marine Corps’ dedication ceremony, which coincided with the 231st Marine Corps anniversary.

“And on this special birthday, in the company of his fellow Marines, I’m proud to announce that our nation will recognize Cpl. Jason Dunham’s action with America’s highest decoration for valor, the Medal of Honor,” Bush said in front of approximately 15,000 people.

The announcement prompted a booming “Ooh-rah!” – a spirited cry among Marines –from the back of the crowd, and a long applause followed.

On April 14, 2004, in Iraq near the Syrian border, the corporal used his helmet and his body to smother an exploding Mills Bomb let loose by a raging insurgent whom Dunham and two other Marines tried to subdue.

The explosion dazed and wounded Lance Cpl. William Hampton and Pfc. Kelly Miller. The insurgent stood up after the blast and was immediately killed by Marine small-arms fire.

“By giving his own life, Cpl. Dunham saved the lives of two of his men and showed the world what it means to be a Marine,” said Bush.

Dunham lay face down with a shard the size of a dress-shirt button lodged in his head. The hard, molded mesh that was his Kevlar helmet was now scattered yards around into clods and shredded fabric. Dunham never regained consciousness and died eight days later at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., with his mother and father at his bedside.

Dunham’s commanding officers from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, investigated his actions and nominated him for the Medal of Honor. After two years and seven months making its way to the White House, the nomination now has the necessary approval from the president. The president will present the medal and citation at a date to be determined.

Hoping the president would make the Medal of Honor announcement on their son’s birthday, Dan and Debra Dunham drove to Quantico from their home in Scio, N.Y. Dunham is buried in Scio.

“The public now knows what Jason did,” said Deb. “We still have a loss, but the gift that Jason gave helps us go on.

"The good part is that we get to make new memories and bring new people into the family; the bad news is there will be no new memories with Jason.”

The president acknowledged Dan and Deb sitting in the front row. The parents held each other close as the audience gave a resounding applause.

“We took (the applause) as a thank you for us, but it was for Jason,” Deb said. “At that point, Dan and I were missing Jason a lot.”

Addressing Dunham’s parents, Bush said, “We remember that the Marine who so freely gave his life was your beloved son. We ask a loving God to comfort you for a loss that can never be replaced.

“As long as we have Marines like Cpl. Dunham, America will never fear for her liberty.”

Before Dunham, the last Marine actions to earn the medal happened May 8, 1970, in Vietnam, according to Marine Corps History Division records. A Medal of Honor citation details Lance Cpl. Miguel Keith’s machine-gun charge that inspired a platoon facing nearly overwhelming odds: Wounded, Keith ran into “fire-swept terrain.” Wounded again by a grenade, he still attacked, taking out enemies in the forward rush. Keith fought until mortally wounded; his platoon came out on top despite being heavily outnumbered.

The last Marine to receive the Medal of Honor was Maj. Gen. James L. Day, who distinguished himself as a corporal in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. On Jan. 20, 1998, more than half a century later, President Bill Clinton presented the medal to Day, who passed away that year.

Since the Long War began, the president has presented one Medal of Honor. On April 4, 2003, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith posthumously earned the medal for organizing a defense that held off a company-sized attack on more than 100 vulnerable coalition soldiers. In the defense, Smith manned a .50 caliber machine gun in an exposed position until he was mortally wounded.


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Honoring a hero

Fallen Marine’s family accepts Medal of Honor at White House

Posted : January 22, 2007

For the first time in more than 30 years, a Marine’s actions on the battlefield have been recognized with the highest decoration for combat valor the country has to give.

Cpl. Jason Dunham, a young Marine from upstate New York who jumped on a grenade in Iraq to save his comrades, was honored Jan. 11 in a solemn ceremony at the White House, where President Bush presented his parents with the Medal of Honor.

Dunham, a 22-year-old Scio, N.Y., native who shared his Nov. 10 birthday with the Corps, saved at least two lives by acting quickly during a struggle with an insurgent near the Syrian border.

“On a dusty road in western Iraq, Corporal Dunham gave his own life so that the men under his command might live,” the president said. “This morning, it’s my privilege to recognize Corporal Dunham’s devotion to the Corps and country.”

Bush described Dunham as “a Marine’s Marine” who led by example.

“He was the kind of person who would stop patrols to play street soccer with the Iraqi schoolchildren,” Bush said. “He was the guy who signed on for an extra two months in Iraq so he could stay with his squad.”

The presentation was made in the East Room of the White House before a packed crowd that included Dunham’s family and dozens of his fellow Marines in their dress uniforms.

“With this medal, we ask the God who commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves to wrap his arms around the family of Corporal Jason Dunham, a Marine who is not here today because he lived that commandment to the fullest,” Bush said.

Dunham’s father and mother said after the ceremony that the honor should be shared with their son’s fellow Marines.

“They’re all courageous. It’s as much theirs as it is Jason’s,” Dan Dunham said.

“I’ve lost my son, but he became a part of history,” said Dunham’s mother, Deb. “It still hurts as a parent, but the pride that you have from knowing he did the right thing makes it easier.”

Jason’s “second family,” the Marine Corps, had done everything that could be asked, she said, but she acknowledged they still do not have what they all want most.

“I wanted him here, and I didn’t have him,” Deb Dunham said.

Jason Dunham grew up a popular athlete in the small town of Scio in Alleghany County, where his mother, a home economics teacher, helped teach him spelling by using different words in the basketball game of “horse.” In his hometown, Dunham still holds the local high school’s record for the highest single-season batting average, hitting .414 there before graduating in 1999.

In April 2004, Dunham, who was with 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, received a report that a Marine convoy had been ambushed, according to a Marine Corps account. Dunham led his men to the site near Husaybah, halting a convoy of departing cars. According to his award citation, an insurgent in one of the vehicles grabbed him by the throat when he went to search the car. The two fought.

“Corporal Dunham wrestled the insurgent to the ground and in the ensuing struggle saw the insurgent release a grenade,” his citation reads. “Aware of the imminent danger and without hesitation, Corporal Dunham covered the grenade with his helmet and body, bearing the brunt of the explosion and shielding his Marines from the blast.”

He lived for eight days after the attack, long enough to be transferred to National Naval Medical Center Bethesda, Md., where he died with his parents beside him.

The Jan. 11 ceremony was attended by New York state Rep. Randy Kuhl, R-Hammondsport, and several senators, including John McCain, R-Ariz., a former Vietnam prisoner of war.

McCain said the ceremony was “a very moving experience” and a reminder of the “terribly heart-wrenching” sacrifices made by everyday Americans in war.

The Dunhams were to meet later in the day with New York Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, who had pressed for Dunham to be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Dunham is the second member of the military to receive the Medal of Honor for service in the Iraq war. The first was Sgt. 1st Class Paul Smith, who also died in action. Two other Marines have been nominated to receive the Medal of Honor posthumously.

— The Associated Press

[Batgirl]

Rest in Peace Cpl. Dunham and God bless the family of this hero

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