Marines honor corporal's heroic sacrifice

By Sgt. Jose L. Garcia, 1st Marine Division

CAMP AL QAIM, Iraq (April 29, 2004) – A 22-year-old corporal from Scio, N.Y., lived up to the Corps' largest legends and laid down his life to save his Marines.

Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, a rifle squad leader for Company K, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, was memorialized by his battalion here as a crowd of more than 500 Marines, sailors and soldiers paid final respects under a dark and cloudy sky.

Dunham died April 22, eight days after using his helmet and his body to smother an exploding grenade let loose by an insurgent.

"His was a selfless act of courage to save his fellow Marines," said Sgt. Maj. Daniel A. Huff, battalion sergeant major. "This generation of Marines is as good as any generation we've ever had in the Corps."

Dunham was patrolling with his squad in an alley near the Syrian border April 14 when a man lunged at him from a parked vehicle.

As two other Marines assisted Dunham, the insurgent dropped an armed hand grenade. Dunham covered the blast and saved the lives of his Marines. All three Marines were wounded, but all three might have died had Dunham not dampened the blast.

"He new what he was doing," said Lance Cpl. Jason A. Sanders, 21, from McAllester, Okla., who served with Dunham in Company K. "He wanted to save Marines’ lives from that grenade."

Another Company K Marine, Lance Cpl. Mark E. Dean, 22, from Owasso, Okla., described Dunham as an unselfish Marine. Dunham's enlistment would have ended months before the battalion is expected to rotate back to Twentynine Palms, Ca., but he voluntarily extended his contract to stay with his Marines.

"We told him he was crazy for coming out here," Dean explained. "He decided to come out here and fight with us. All he wanted was to make sure his boys made it back home."

"The only way to honor him is in his own way," said Capt. Trent A. Gibson, commanding officer for Company K. "We must continue to do our duty, take care of our Marines, lead by example and take the fight to the enemy."

Dunham was born Nov. 10, 1981 and joined the Marine Corps on a delayed-entry program during his high school senior year. He graduated high school and entered the Marine Corps July 31, 2000. He completed recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. He joined 3/7 in September 2003.

Huff said leaders in the battalion are investigating and awaiting eyewitness statements from Marines to determine how they will recognize Dunham’s actions.

"What Cpl. Dunham did equates to what a lot of heroes of our past have done to earn the nation's highest honor," explained Sgt. Maj. Wayne R. Bell, 1st Marine Division's sergeant major. "If it were up to me, he'd be put in for the Medal of Honor. From bits and pieces of what I'm hearing, it very well could be. He'll be in the history books, like many of our Marines here."

Dunham survived for eight days and returned to the U.S. He expired with his parents by his hospital bed shortly after Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Michael W. Hagee presented Dunham with the Purple Heart.

"God made something special when he made Jason," Dean said, "It was a privilege and honor to know him. It's sad he is gone, but he is living it up in heaven and I'm happy for that."

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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 (http://www.mcnews.info/mcnewsinfo/moh/).

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.