Marcus Corporal Dunham: Medal of Honor (Posthumously)
January 13th, 2007 by Marcus
The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to
JASON L. DUNHAM
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
For service as set forth in the following
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of this life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as 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 sever Iraqi vehicles in a column attempting to depart, Corporal Dunham as his team stopped the vehicles to search them for weapons. As they approached the vehicles, and 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.
DoD photo by Cherie A. Thurlby (Released)
This was such a beautiful ceremony today. Cpl Dunham was an amazing young man, and his mom is just an incredible lady. Don't know where Debbi pulled her strength from today, probably Jason holding her up. May Jason rest easy now.
What an incredible man. Thank you for reminding us what heroism is.
DEATH is nothing at all.
I have only slipped away to the next room.
I am me and you are you, whatever we were to each
other we are that still.
Call me by my old familiar name.
Speak to me in the easy way, which you always used.
Put no difference into your tone.
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, and pray for me.
Let my name be ever a household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without effort, without the ghost of a shadow in it.
Life means more than it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was.
There is absolute unbroken continuity…
Why should I be out of your mind because I am out of your sight?
I am but waiting for you, for an interval somewhere,
very near, just around the corner.
All is well.
God bless you Corporal. We rest easier because of your sacrifice.
CPL M – thank you for posting this. You should link to your previous tribute to CPL Dunham – it was the finest I have seen.
As a former USMC vet I can say Cpl Dunham was one of those common men of uncommon valour. We hear of them from time to time; but, none of ever expects to know such a man or woman. I salute you Cpl Dunham. I offer my condolances to Cpl Dunham's family, friends and lastly but not least, his fellow soldiers and "band of brothers!"
I leave you with these words from a song written by another brother before his death:
Thank you for this post. People need to see and hear about our Warriors so they know to whom they owe their freedom!
Your comment has been deleted by CJ. I will not allow you to bastardize a post dedicated to a valorous Marine. Keep your antiwar propaganda confined in the Open Threads and topics on the subject or I'll just ban you altogether.
And perhaps you should seek a literacy center for help with that reading problem you obviously have, followed by stress management classes.
Thanks for the warning about the need for tissues.
Hey CriticalFacts, keep your crap away from us. Good heavens……….nothing like taking a tribute and crapping it up with your crap.
For someone using the name "CriticalFacts" you sure have a lot of trouble understanding what facts are. Can you show me where Sue said that Dunham's mom was "lucky"? Cause I can tell you for a FACT she didn't say that anywhere here.
I'm am going to kindly ask only once that any discussion beyond the award, including any partisan discussion, be taken to the most recent Open Briefing. This is a tribute to Corporal Dunham and I will not stand for my brother-in-arms' tribute fall to bickering. Thank you everyone for understanding.
And I'm going to unkindly tell you to go away if you have nothing good to say about this Marine. I don't want you here (Not you, Marcus). Personally, I'm at that point that I don't care if anyone understands or not. They just have to accept it or go away and complain somewhere else. To every thing there is a time, and this isn't it.
My condolences go out to the Brave Marine's family first and foremost. This young man's bravery, courage and self-sacrifice to save the lives of his brothers in arms is something worth noting and I'm glad that he has been recognized for this. As Sue said, he was an amazing young man. May this young Hero rest in peace.
Thank you for this post.. May we ALWAYS honour the young men like Cpl Dunham…..Rest in peace….
Devildog? I love those lyrics that you posted.. Thank YOU!
thank for for posting this.
Thanks for posting this. I saw a story about this Marine the other day but it wasn't the ceremony. They were talking about his life. Thanks for posting especially since I didn't get to see the ceremony. God bless our troops! Hooah!
Dunham was an amzing Marine. I wish I could have known him.
God Bless
I know this is to say something about CPL Dunham, but I honestly didn't know where to post this and I wanted to post it badly…
It may take you two minutes to read this, but if you do not take the time to read this you are one of the people this post is talking about.
You stay up for 16 hours
He stays up for days on end.
_________________________
You take a warm shower to help you wake up.
He goes days or weeks without running water.
__________________________
You complain of a "headache", and call in sick.
He gets shot at as others are hit, and keeps moving forward.
__________________________
You put on your anti war/don't support the troops shirt, and go meet up with your friends.
He still fights for your right to wear that shirt.
__________________________
You make sure you're cell phone is in your pocket.
He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags.
__________________________
You talk trash about your "buddies" that aren't with you.
He knows he may not see some of his buddies again.
__________________________
You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls.
He patrols the streets, searching for insurgents and terrorists.
_________________________
You complain about how hot it is.
He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow.
__________________________
You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.
He doesn't get to eat today.
__________________________
Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.
He wears the same things for weeks, but makes sure his weapons are clean.
__________________________
You go to the mall and get your hair redone.
He doesn't have time to brush his teeth today.
__________________________
You're angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.
He's told he will be held over an extra 2 months.
__________________________
You call your girlfriend and set a date for tonight.
He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home.
__________________________
You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do everyday.
He holds his letter close and smells his love's perfume.
__________________________
You roll your eyes as a baby cries.
He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and wonders if they'll ever meet
__________________________
You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything.
He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own people and remembers why he is fighting.
__________________________
You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of men like him.
He hears the gunfire, bombs and screams of the wounded.
__________________________
You see only what the media wants you to see.
He sees the broken bodies lying around him.
__________________________
You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don't.
He does exactly what he is told.
__________________________
You stay at home and watch TV.
He takes whatever time he is given to call, write home, sleep, and eat.
__________________________
You crawl into your soft bed, with down pillows, and get comfortable.
He tries to sleep but gets woken by mortars and helicopters all night long.
__________________________
You sit there and judge him, saying the world is probably a worse place because of men like him.
If only there were more men like him
___________________________
If you support your troops, repost this with a "HOOAH!"
HOOAH!!!
HOOAH indeed! Posted this oldie but always relevant piece on Soldiers' Angels…. Thank you.
Thanks Cpl M for posting this about Cpl Dunham. He was indeed a brave, brave Marine! What a man! I pray that his family will find some solace in the fact that he died that others might live! God Bless his family!!
What is the process in determining if a Medal of Honor is given to a nominee or not? How do you get one?