Posted on 11/10/2006 2:53:13 PM PST by VaMarVet
President Bush marked Veteran's Day Friday by dedicating the new National Museum of the Marine Corps and by bestowing the country's highest military honor posthumously on a Marine from New York who saved the lives of two other Marines by throwing himself onto a live grenade.
"As long as we have Marines like Cpl. Dunham, America will never fear for her liberty," Bush said about Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, who died from wounds he received near Husaybah, Iraq, in April 2004 after engaging in hand-to-hand combat with an insurgent. "As long as we have this fine museum, America will never forget the sacrifice." Dunham, a high school athlete from Scio, N.Y., would have been 25 years old Friday, the 231st birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps. Bush said Dunham was "born to be a Marine."
He said Dunham, 22 years old at the time, first threw his helmet onto the grenade then jumped on it himself "to protect his fellow Marines." He called Dunham "the toughest Marine, but the nicest guy."
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee presented Dunham with the Purple Heart at his bedside shortly before he died at Bethesda Naval Hospital with his parents at his side eight days after he was wounded in Iraq.
Today, Bush awarded Dunham the Medal of Honor at the museum ceremony. Wiping away a tear, he called the Marine's death "a loss that can never be replaced." Dunham's parents were at the ceremony...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
God bless him and those like him.
Got a pic of the hero Marine?
After what took place in this country on Tuesday, I have to sadly conclude that we, as a nation, are no longer worthy of being served by such men.
God bless his family and this country that he so willingly died for.
They won by 5,0OO votes. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. There are millions of us who have done nothing to be lumped in with them
USMC News:
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.
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.
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. Next, the president will present the medal and citation to the Dunhams.
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.
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. He 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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Go here and click on the pic as above for more images of our hero.
Corporal Dunham would have turned 25 today. Fair Winds and Following Seas to you Devil Dog and Happy Birthday.
Thank you.
I can only be very, very humble.
Semper Fi, RIP
I will have remember you at the Birthday Ball tonight as will all your fellow Marines!
Unbelievable ... the MSM acknowledges a military hero.
- Semper Fi
Edit: the word "have" was not meant to be in the post.
I'm a military veteran, but Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, is a hero. I reserve my sharpest salute for him and his kind.
<< Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. - Jesus Christ
My family and I will never forget the sacrifice you and your family has made for our Great Nation - Thank You.
May God grant your family that Peace that passes all understanding. >>
Thank You, Dear Lord.
Amen
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