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thedrifter
04-30-04, 11:14 AM
WAR CASUALTY
Scio Marine had jumped in front of grenade
By ANTHONY CARDINALE
News Staff Reporter
4/26/2004

Cpl. Jason Dunham of Allegany County jumped in front of a hand grenade to save the lives of two fellow Marines in Iraq on April 14.
Dunham, 22, of Scio, died Thursday in Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. His death brought to eight the number of Western New York servicemen to die since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Two other Marines were wounded but are recovering.

"All I can say is, this ain't nothing that I wouldn't expect of my son, because that's the kind of person he was," his father, Daniel Dunham, an Air Force veteran, said Sunday. Dunham read from documents received from the military about the circumstances surrounding his son's fatal injuries in Karbala, about 60 miles southwest of Baghdad.

"Preliminary reports are that an Iraqi hostile (fighter) departed a stopped vehicle with a hand grenade. When he deployed the hand grenade, Cpl. Dunham put himself between the grenade and his fellow Marines. The two Marines who witnessed the event were also medevaced, so the battalion is still gaining details."

Dunham began his second deployment in Iraq in September after extending his enlistment to serve as a squad leader with another Marine unit. He enlisted in the Marines after graduating from Scio Central School in June 2000. He was scheduled to complete his service in July.

"Jason's been my hero since the day he was born," his father said. "All my kids are. They never had to do anything to prove that to me."

The funeral will be scheduled later this week after the body arrives home.

Survivors, in addition to his parents, include two brothers, Justin, 21, of Butler, Pa., and Kyle, 15; a sister, Katie, 11; and his grandparents, Patricia Layton of Amity, Murray and Linda Dunham of Arkport, Gerald and Roberta Kinkead of Ridgeway, Pa., and Bernie and Sandy Jackson of Wellsville.

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20040426/1053024.asp


Ellie

Rest In Peace

G.L.B.
04-30-04, 11:19 AM
True Marine dedication. Orah.
and may God be with you at the gate.

namgrunt
04-30-04, 01:21 PM
CPL Jason Dunham should be put in for a posthumous Navy Cross.
You can't give more for fellow Marines than he did.
May he Rest In Peace.

Semper Fi!

Super Dave
04-30-04, 01:33 PM
Does that rise to the level of a CMH? The ultimate sacrifice giving his life for his fellow Marines...

namgrunt
04-30-04, 01:38 PM
It does, but I don't want to be presumptive.
Some men have not gotten the CMH for the same thing while others have.
I guess it would depend on the after action report, and how his death is highlighted.
The CMH would be even better, of course.

Toby M
04-30-04, 02:17 PM
Obviously no disrespect intended but our government will probably give him a Bronze Star...after all, it wasn't a Jessica situation...
My condolences to the family! Their son died a real hero and deserves so much more!

thedrifter
05-01-04, 05:59 AM
Marines honor corporal's heroic sacrifice
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification Number: 20045143251
Story by Sgt. Jose L. Garcia



CAMP AL QAIM, Iraq(April 29, 2004) -- Recruits at the Corps' two recruit training depots will know Cpl. Jason L. Dunham. They will know that the 22-year-old Marine lived up to the Corps' largest legends and laid down his own life to save those of his Marines.

Dunham, a machine gunner for Company K, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment was memorialized by his battalion April 29th here. A crowd of more than 500 Marines, sailors and soldiers gathered under a dark and cloudy sky for a memorial service to pay their last respects to a brave hero.

Dunham, from Scio, N.Y., died from his wounds April 24. Ten days earlier, the Marine dove on top of a grenade, absorbing nearly all the blast with his own body to save his fellow Marines.

"His was a selfless act of courage to save his fellow Marines," said Sgt. Maj. Daniel A. Huff, sergeant major for 3rd Battalion 7th Marine Regiment. "This generation of Marines is as good as any generation we've ever had in the Corps."

Dunham was manning a vehicle checkpoint near Husaybah after a convoy was ambushed April 14. He observed car pull up and a man jump from the vehicle, sprinting away. Dunham - in full combat gear - chased the man down, tackling him to the ground.

Other Marines came to assist in the apprehension when the terrorist pulled a pin from a hand grenade. Dunham dove onto the grenade, taking the blast into his own body, saving the lives of his Marines. Dunham suffered serious wounds, along with two other Marines. But were it not for his actions, all three might have died.

"He new what he was doing," said Lance Cpl. Jason A. Sanders, 21, from McAllester, Okla., and a mortar man with Company K. "He wanted to save Marines' lives from that grenade."

Another mortar man with the company, Lance Cpl. Mark E. Dean, 22, from Owasso, Okla., described Dunham as an unselfish Marine. Dunham's enlistment was to end in June, but he voluntarily extended his contract to join 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 dreamed of joining the Los Angeles Police Department after his tour.

He was born Nov. 10, 1981 and joined the Marine Corps July 31, 2000. The Marine completed recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. He joined 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment in September 2003, serving with 4th Platoon as a machine gunner.

Huff said commanders with the battalion are still awaiting eyewitness statements from Marines before determining at what level they will recommend Dunham for a decoration.

"What Corporal 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," Bell added.

Dunham survived his wounds for ten days when his parents, Daniel K. Dunham and Natalie J. Sherwood made the decision to end life support for the Marine. According to Bell, Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Michael W. Hagee and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, Sgt. Maj. John L. Estrada were at Dunham's bedside with his parents at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland when he died.

"That in itself speaks volumes knowing that no matter who it is - general officer or a corporal - his act alone warrants a visit from the Commandant," Bell said. "I know that the Marines who are alive today, because of what Corporal Dunham did, will never forget that Marine as long as they live.

"Corporal Dunham is everybody's hero," Bell added. "He sacrificed his life so his Marines could continue the mission."

"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."

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20045143436/$file/Dunham1lr.jpg

Cpl. Nicholas Fierro, an infantryman 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, kisses a helmet standing in honor of Cpl. Jason L. Dunham during a memorial ceremony held April 29 at Camp Al Qaim, Iraq. Dunham jumped on a grenade April 14 saving the lives of at least two other Marines. Dunham was seriously injured and later died April 24 from the wounds.
(USMC photo by Sgt. Jose L. Garcia) Photo by: Sgt. Jose L. Garcia


http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20045143658/$file/Dunham3lr.jpg

Marines from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment bow their heads and recite a prayer during memorial service held April 29, to honor Cpl. Jason L. Dunham. Dunham served with 4th Platoon, Company K as machine gunner. Dunham jumped on a grenade April 14 in the outskirts of Husaybah to save other Marines lives while manning a vehicle checkpoint. He died ten days later from his wounds.
(USMC photo by Sgt. Jose L. Garcia) Photo by: Sgt. Jose L. Garcia

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2004514415/$file/dunham6lr.jpg

Marines from Company K, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment stand by for a memorial service held April 29 to honor Cpl. Jason L. Dunham. Dunham served with 4th Platoon as machine gunner. According to eyewitness accounts, Dunham jumped on a grenade April 14 near Husaybah to save other Marines' lives while manning a vehicle checkpoint. He died ten days later from his wounds.
(USMC photo by Sgt. Jose L. Garcia) Photo by: Sgt. Jose L. Garcia

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/F420EFCFDEFA5E1385256E87002EF42D?opendocument


Ellie

thedrifter
05-03-04, 08:46 PM
Marine Who Shielded His Men Mourned

The Associated Press

http://imgsrv.timesdaily.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=*&Date=20040501&Category=APA&ArtNo=405010925&Ref=AR&AvisData=FT&title=1&maxw=300

U.S. Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham, shown in this undated family photo, was buried, Saturday, May 1, 2004, in Scio, N.Y. Dunham died April 22, at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Md. Relatives say Jason never regained consciousness after sustaining a head injury from a shrapnel wound, April 14, in the Iraqi city of Karbala. The oldest of four children, Dunham enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2000 after graduating from Scio Central School near Buffalo. His father, Daniel Dunham, said Jason was scheduled to be out of the service in July. (AP Photo/The Wellsville Daily Reporter, courtesy Dunham family)



Mourners Saturday filled one of Cpl. Jason Dunham's favorite places - his high school gym - for the funeral of the Marine, who died in Iraq after using his own body to shield his men from an attacker's grenade.

The gym, packed with more than 1,500 people, is the largest gathering space in the upstate New York town of Scio, where Dunham grew up. His casket rested beneath a basketball hoop.

Dunham, 22, died just over a week ago from wounds he sustained April 14 in Iraq.

A report from the Marine Corps said Dunham was commanding a check point near Karbala when a man got out of a car and tried to flee. Dunham tackled the man, who then pulled a pin from a hand grenade. Dunham dove onto the grenade before it exploded, the Marines reported. Two other Marines were injured.

Dunham, with K Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, was remembered in Iraq on Thursday at a service attended by more than 500 Marines, sailors and soldiers, the Marines reported.

Dunham "never judged anyone and he never judged the people over there," friend Justin Lambert said at Saturday's funeral. "He was just doing his job. He's going to be missed."

As a long procession of cars and walkers accompanied the casket to the nearby cemetery, Scio residents sat on their porches and children lined the sidewalk. An American flag was draped above the highway.

Dunham's parents, carrying the tri-folded flag that had draped their eldest son's coffin, and their three younger children were escorted by the Marines to an awaiting car.

"The Marine Corps have really showed us how much this means to them," said Cpl. Dunham's father, Dan. "They've been very good to us."

rocnfire
05-16-04, 09:25 AM
Sometimes I think I cannot read another story re: a fallen soldier. But then I remember that these men and women have given the ultimate, and that continues to give not only myself, but each and every American our freedom.

I cannot thank you enough for providing these stories. Nor can I give enough thanks to our service personnel, but here goes:

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for serving and protecting this beautiful country.

God Bless.
Lisa