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In Combat, Marine Put Theory to Test, Comrades Believe (Grown Men May Cry Alert)
Wall Street Journa ^ | 5/25/2004 | MICHAEL M. PHILLIPS

Posted on 05/25/2004 5:38:57 AM PDT by Rutles4Ever

AL QA'IM, Iraq -- Early this spring, Cpl. Jason Dunham and two other Marines sat in an outpost in Iraq and traded theories on surviving a hand-grenade attack.

Second Lt. Brian "Bull" Robinson suggested that if a Marine lay face down on the grenade and held it between his forearms, the ceramic bulletproof plate in his flak vest might be strong enough to protect his vital organs. His arms would shatter, but he might live.

Cpl. Dunham had another idea: A Marine's Kevlar helmet held over the grenade might contain the blast. "I'll bet a Kevlar would stop it," he said, according to Second Lt. Robinson.

"No, it'll still mess you up," Staff Sgt. John Ferguson recalls saying.

It was a conversation the men would remember vividly a few weeks later, when they saw the shredded remains of Cpl. Dunham's helmet, apparently blown apart from the inside by a grenade. Fellow Marines believe Cpl. Dunham's actions saved the lives of two men and have recommended him for the Medal of Honor, an award that no act of heroism since 1993 has garnered.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News
KEYWORDS: cmoh; grenade; hero; iraq; marine
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This story will not be told on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN... The Medal of Honor is newsworthy, but not as newsworthy as Al Gore warning about a second Ice Age...

If you can get a copy of the Journal today, this is well worth the dollar.

1 posted on 05/25/2004 5:39:00 AM PDT by Rutles4Ever
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To: Rutles4Ever
Wow, that is some story. Considering our location these days, Cpl. Dunham was almost a local boy. Hubby is a distant cousin. We couldn't make it to the funeral, but his mother and sister went. Cpl Dunham WAS a true hero.

Agreed, this is a MUCH more important story than Algore trying to combine his failed, pet, global warming theory with the "nuclear winter" theory, which used science to debunk global warming a coupla decades ago. Which is why the mass media is ignoring it, as they ignore the murder of Nick Berg.

2 posted on 05/25/2004 5:50:14 AM PDT by cake_crumb (UN Resolutions = Very Expensive, Very SCRATCHY Toilet Paper)
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Comment #3 Removed by Moderator

To: Rutles4Ever

So his helmet blew up...what's the rest of the story?


4 posted on 05/25/2004 6:05:04 AM PDT by Rudder
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To: cake_crumb

I'm looking forward to the day when many of the Iraq stories find light. This country is in dire need of a reality check and I can't think of a better way to make it happen. Paul Smith's story is also very moving... jumped into a Humvee and pulled away from his position where a number of GIs were wounded and pinned down...he pulled out into the open, drawing fire to him, he got up top and started firing the 50 cal at the enemy until a bullet caught him in the neck and killed him. The rest of the GIs apparently got help and prevailed in the fight. Heroes all.


5 posted on 05/25/2004 6:07:32 AM PDT by BillyCrockett
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To: BillyCrockett
"I'm looking forward to the day when many of the Iraq stories find light."

Me too. The only way that will happen is at the grass roots level, as soldiers return home and tell the truth about events in Iraq. I've got a dozen family members in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hubby has more due to the fact that his family is so huge. The mass media will ignore their stories except when they're busy Winter Soldier-ing them. Expect the Winter Soldier-ing of veterans of the WoT to intensify as November approaches.

6 posted on 05/25/2004 6:18:45 AM PDT by cake_crumb (UN Resolutions = Very Expensive, Very SCRATCHY Toilet Paper)
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To: Rudder

Alas, I can only excerpt it from WSJ. The helmet blew up with him on top of it. He survived for roughly 48 hours and his family had one last chance to see him at bedside, but it was already too late. He had shrapnel in his brain that slipped down and became inoperable.

Get off your butt and go buy the Journal ;-) . Trust me, it's worth it.


7 posted on 05/25/2004 6:19:53 AM PDT by Rutles4Ever
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To: cake_crumb

He was indeed a hero. We all cried when we read his story this morning in the WSJ.


8 posted on 05/25/2004 6:21:34 AM PDT by livius
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To: livius

sent an email to dubya telling him to include matter like this in his speeches - no one else will report it.

This dude deserves a MoH


9 posted on 05/25/2004 6:51:43 AM PDT by Southern62
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To: livius
Funerals were held for him in several towns in central NY, partly becaue he was a local boy and partly because it would be too far for a lot of them to drive. Shame, becaue it would have been something to see four or five hundred friends and family in one place.
10 posted on 05/25/2004 7:01:00 AM PDT by cake_crumb (UN Resolutions = Very Expensive, Very SCRATCHY Toilet Paper)
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To: Rutles4Ever

Corporal Jason Dunham
Kilo Company, Third Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment

Requiescat in Pacem

11 posted on 05/25/2004 7:13:16 AM PDT by Jarhead_22 (Peace can wait. I want payback.)
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To: Southern62

Sounds like his wounds were almost as bad a John Kerry's.

He was in Vietnam, you know.

R.I.P., Marine.


12 posted on 05/25/2004 7:13:33 AM PDT by Mr. Jazzy (I think James Brown said it best, "Shabbbbab-brezeee, nahn, uuhhh, Can't hep myseff.")
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To: Rudder

His brain was badly injured and his parents were called to his side. The doctors sid that he would never recover and would only deteriorate. He had left it to his dad to decide when to pull the plug and made the decision. His unit in Iraq was told that the decision had been made and the orderes would be carried out in 2 hours. The entire unit gathered together and prayed fervently for the entire two hours for Jason's recovery until news of his death reached them.

He has been nominate for the Medal of Honor, the only Marine so far.


13 posted on 05/25/2004 7:40:06 AM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (Even if the government took all your earnings, you wouldn't be, in its eyes, a slave.)
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To: Blood of Tyrants

Note to the media: These are the people I save my tears for. I moved on from prisoner abuse weeks ago.

RIP Marine.


14 posted on 05/25/2004 7:52:26 AM PDT by ISonnet
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To: Jarhead_22

Great post and thanks to the inginuity of a damn fine Marine. Give him the MOH!


15 posted on 05/25/2004 7:53:58 AM PDT by Americanwolf (Former Navy AO3... IYAOYAS!!!! Population control and landscaping with a bang!)
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To: msdrby; Wneighbor; snippy_about_it; SAMWolf; Darksheare; Valin; Johnny Gage

Blurry monitor ping


16 posted on 05/25/2004 8:47:55 AM PDT by Professional Engineer (I'm a new father. Just call me the bus driver.)
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To: Professional Engineer; Ragtime Cowgirl

Semper Fi Bump


17 posted on 05/25/2004 8:51:27 AM PDT by SAMWolf (This tagline was created from many little letters.)
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To: SAMWolf
A 4th ID Medic lives with our family in my house. He is a friend of my son also a 4th ID medic (Fort Hood, Texas)

My sons friend will receive the Bronze Star with Valor for saving the life of an Iraqi citizen whom worked for the coalition forces. The Iraqi was severely injured when the bad guys poured a flammable liquid on his arms and set him afire. This American medic gave aid to the Iraqi while pinned down by sniper fire from the top of a building. Our guys went into the building and killed the snipers. The Iraqi was taken care of by the United States Army. (I think he was flown to Germany but I am not sure)

Our Army could have easily taken out the top of the building with tank fire or with a Gun Ship. This entails the risk of
civilian casualties. American soldiers with rifles in their hands took them out.

It will be a cold day in hell before Dan Rather and the others tell news stories like this. They hate military and they hate Bush and are doing every thing they can to defeat both and they do know their bias is killing American Soldiers by giving propaganda victories to the enemy.
18 posted on 05/25/2004 9:15:36 AM PDT by cpdiii (Oil Field Trash, Geologist, Pharmacist (REFUSE TO ATTEND A GUNFIGHT WITH A CAL. LESS THAN FORTY))
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To: Jarhead_22

God speed, Marine, and may He welcome you into His Kingdom.


19 posted on 05/25/2004 10:06:21 AM PDT by ought-six
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To: cpdiii

"It will be a cold day in hell before Dan Rather and the others tell news stories like this. They hate military and they hate Bush and are doing every thing they can to defeat both and they do know their bias is killing American Soldiers by giving propaganda victories to the enemy."

That's a fact.


20 posted on 05/25/2004 10:09:53 AM PDT by ought-six
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