USMC HERO
Cpl. Jason L. Dunham of Scio, N.Y., posthumously received America's highest military decoration two years and nine months after succumbing to a mortal brain injury while fighting in Iraq. He served with K Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, based in Twentynine Palms, Calif. "We're accepting this honor for Jason, but we're also accepting this in all the servicemen and women's names," said mother Debra Dunham.
"Jason believed that all men on this earth should be free," said father Dan Dunham. "He also believed in his friends."
The Navy Medal of Honor, shared with the Marine Corps, is a bronze medallion hanging from an anchor sewn to a sky-blue ribbon. Presented posthumously, it is encased in oak and glass; otherwise, its bearer would wear it around his neck. But the latest Marine bestowed with the honor was not present in the flesh.
In spirit, on the other hand, Dunham filled every corner of the White House.
"We wish that Jason would have been able to be here so we could watch him," said Deb. "But we know he's watching."
In a lively reunion of sorts, more than 80 Marines from Dunham's unit soaked up their stately surroundings – many with digital cameras. Lounging about the White House and bedecked in dress blues, the men laughed and cried as a band of brothers, a bond forged in combat, according to Maj. Trent Gibson, who was Dunham's company commander.
Six venerable Medal of Honor recipients attended the ceremony, as well as some of America's highest military and government figures.
Seated among others in
the East Room were Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Bob
Gates, Sen. John McCain, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Peter Pace, and
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway.
Before the citation was read, President George W. Bush gave personal
praise to Jason: "He had a natural gift for leadership, and a
compassion that led him to take others under his wing. The Marine Corps
took the best of this young man, and made it better."
Bush said Jason represented the best of young Americans.
The room came to attention as the president took his position beside the
mother. The narrator began reciting: "The President of the United
States, in the name of the Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal
of Honor posthumously to …"
Hearing her son's name, Deb's body began wrenching slightly, apparently
trying to contain her emotions. With a tearful president at her left and
Dan at her right, Deb held their hands throughout the citation – or they
held hers. Dan and Deb's three children stood behind them.
The citation went on: "By his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting
spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty, Cpl. Dunham gallantly gave his
life for his country …"
With the citation given, Bush presented the encased medal to the family.
Acknowledging all service members afterward, the father said "Their
names are all attached to this medal. They're all courageous. They all
have valor. It's something that I want them all to know: They're part of
this medal. It's as much theirs as it is Jason's."
Wall Street Journal reporter Michael M. Phillips, who covered the war in
Iraq alongside Dunham's unit, also attended the ceremony. Phillips first
introduced Dunham's story to a mass audience with a front-page article
published May 25, 2004. He later wrote the unabridged story in "The
Gift of Valor; A War Story," which narrates Jason's life and death,
from growing up in Scio, to giving his life in service to country, to an
eight-day journey home battling his wounds.
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.
After the grenade exploded under Dunham's helmet, he lay face down with a
few tiny pieces of shrapnel 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. He was 22.
Jason
L. Dunham was born on 10 November 1981. The date may seem insignificant to
those who don't know its history. The ones who do know its significance
celebrate this day - faithfully - each year. November 10th is the United
States Marine Corps birthday... a birthday that Jason Dunham shares.
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.
| NAVAL SUBMARINE
BASE KINGS BAY, Ga. (Aug. 25, 2007)
-- It was no average summer day Aug. 17, in Kings Bay, Ga., at
least not at the Marine Corps Security Force Company’s barracks.
There was a special feeling in the air for every fellow Marine,
sailor, friend and family member of a true American hero.
This hero is Cpl. Jason Dunham, Marine Medal of Honor recipient. The Marines dedicated their barracks to Dunham in a ceremony in front of his family, friends and Marines who served with Dunham during Operation Iraqi Freedom. “Corporal Jason Dunham is a Marine hero for today’s era,” said Lt. Col. Andrew J. Murray, commanding officer of Marine Corps Security Force Company Kings Bay, Marine Corps Security Force Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force. “He will be a Marine leader to be emulated by Marines here (for years to come).” |
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On April 14, 2004, while
serving as rifle squad leader in 4th Platoon, Company K, 3rd Battalion,
7th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7, 1st Marine Division,
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 away.
Dunham led his team toward the engagement to provide fire support to their
battalion commander’s convoy, which had been ambushed as it was
traveling to Camp Husaybah near the Iraqi-Syrian border.
As they advanced, Dunham’s team began to receive enemy fire themselves.
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 the
area, Dunham and his team stopped the vehicles to search them for weapons.
As they approached the vehicles, an insurgent leaped out and attacked
Dunham. Dunham wrestled the insurgent to the ground and, in the ensuing
struggle, saw him release a grenade.
Dunham immediately alerted his fellow Marines to the threat. Aware of the
imminent danger and without hesitation, Dunham covered the grenade with
his helmet and body, bore the brunt of the explosion, and shielded his
Marines from the blast.
Sacrificing his own safety in an act of bravery which left him mortally
wounded, he saved the lives of two fellow Marines. He gave his life
fighting for his country.
So here at the Marine Corps Security Force Company barracks, where Dunham
served from 2001 to 2003, the Marines dedicated their building, which is
now known as Dunham Barracks, to him.
General Robert Magnus, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, was
on hand for the ceremony and offered these words to the audience as the
barracks’ name was unveiled.
“He knew his mission was to stop the insurgents and protect his fellow
Marines. He would stand up in front of those who would bully his
fellows,” Magnus said. “ … Dunham (is) courage, honor and
commitment. It is with great honor that we dedicate this barracks in
memory of Corporal Jason Dunham.”
A few of the Marines who served with Dunham in 3rd Bn., 7th Marines, were
there as well and they explained Dunham’s charisma and sense of pride
and how it felt to watch the barracks dedication.
“He was a tough, good-looking, likable young guy with all the charisma
in the world,” said Capt. Dave Fleming, Dunham’s platoon commander
while he served with Weapons Platoon, Company K. “The Marines looked up
to him. The sense of pride he had, he instilled in them.”
“I’m glad I came here to see this; it’s beautiful,” explained Sgt.
Jimmy Moronta, who served with Dunham in Weapons Platoon.
Perhaps no one was more touched by the dedication than Dunham’s family,
who was there in the front row.
“It’s an honor and it’s wonderful the Marines have the history they
do to keep him alive,” said his mother, Deb Dunham. “(The Marines) are
his family just as we’re his family.”
“It’s our family name (up there), but it’s about Jason. It’s not
about us,” said his father, Dan Dunham. “Jason was very humble; this
would have been something he really respected.”
Some say immortality means to be remembered throughout history. For the
Marines and sailors stationed here at Marine Corps Security Force Company,
Dunham’s memory will last for years to come, inspiring young Marine
leaders to carry on the tradition built by Marines like Dan Daly, Chesty
Puller, Smedley Butler … and now Jason Dunham.