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Super Dave
05-26-04, 09:40 AM
The Wall Street Journal
May 25, 2004
Pg. 1

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.

A 6-foot-1 star high-school athlete from Scio, N.Y., Cpl. Dunham was chosen
to become a squad leader shortly after he was assigned to Kilo Company,
Third Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment in September 2003. Just 22 years
old, he showed "the kind of leadership where you're confident in your
abilities and don't have to yell about it," says Staff Sgt. Ferguson, 30, of
Aurora, Colo. Cpl. Dunham's reputation grew when he extended his enlistment,
due to end in July, so he could stay with his squad throughout its tour in
the war zone.
During the invasion of Iraq last year, the Third Battalion didn't suffer any
combat casualties. But since March, 10 of its 900 Marines have died from
hostile fire, and 89 have been wounded.

April 14 was an especially bad day. Cpl. Dunham was in the town of
Karabilah, leading a 14-man foot patrol to scout sites for a new base, when
radio reports came pouring in about a roadside bomb hitting another group of
Marines not far away.

Insurgents, the reports said, had ambushed a convoy that included the
Battalion commander, 40-year-old Lt. Col. Matthew Lopez, of Chicago. One
rifle shot penetrated the rear of the commander's Humvee, hitting him in the
back, Lt. Col. Lopez says. His translator and bodyguard, Lance Cpl. Akram
Falah, 23, of Anaheim, Calif., had taken a bullet to the bicep, severing an
artery, according to medical reports filed later.

Cpl. Dunham's patrol jumped aboard some Humvees and raced toward the convoy.
Near the double-arched gateway of the town of Husaybah, they heard the
distinctive whizzing sound of a rocket-propelled grenade overhead. They left
their vehicles and split into two teams to hunt for the shooters, according
to interviews with two men who were there and written reports from two
others.

Around 12:15 p.m., Cpl. Dunham's team came to an intersection and saw a line
of seven Iraqi vehicles along a dirt alleyway, according to Staff Sgt.
Ferguson and others there. At Staff Sgt. Ferguson's instruction, they
started checking the vehicles for
weapons.

Cpl. Dunham approached a run-down white Toyota Land Cruiser. The driver, an
Iraqi in a black track suit and loafers, immediately lunged out and grabbed
the corporal by the throat, according to men at the scene. Cpl. Dunham kneed
the man in the chest, and the two tumbled to the ground.
Two other Marines rushed to the scene. Private First Class Kelly Miller, 21,
of Eureka, Calif., ran from the passenger side of the vehicle and put a
choke hold around the man's neck. But the Iraqi continued to struggle,
according to a military report
Pfc. Miller gave later. Lance Cpl. William B. Hampton, 22, of Woodinville,
Wash., also ran to help.

A few yards away, Lance Cpl. Jason Sanders, 21, a radio operator from
McAlester, Okla., says he heard Cpl. Dunham yell a warning: "No, no, no --
watch his hand!"

What was in the Iraqi's hand appears to have been a British-made "Mills
Bomb" hand grenade. The Marines later found an unexploded Mills Bomb in the
Toyota, along with AK-47 assault rifles and rocket-propelled-grenade
launchers.

A Mills Bomb user pulls a ring pin out and squeezes the external lever --
called the spoon -- until he's ready to throw it. Then he releases the
spoon, leaving the bomb armed. Typically, three to five seconds elapse
between the time the spoon
detaches and the grenade explodes. The Marines later found what they believe
to have been the grenade's pin on the floor of the Toyota, suggesting that
the Iraqi had the grenade in his hand -- on a hair trigger -- even as he
wrestled with Cpl. Dunham.

None of the other Marines saw exactly what Cpl. Dunham did, or even saw the
grenade. But they believe Cpl. Dunham spotted the grenade -- prompting his
warning cry -- and, when it rolled loose, placed his helmet and body on top
of it to protect his squadmates.

The scraps of Kevlar found later, scattered across the street, supported
their conclusion. The grenade, they think, must have been inside the helmet
when it exploded. His fellow Marines believe that Cpl. Dunham made an
instantaneous decision to try out his theory that a helmet might blunt the
grenade blast.

"I deeply believe that given the facts and evidence presented he clearly
understood the situation and attempted to block the blast of the grenade
from his squad members," Lt. Col. Lopez wrote in a May 13 letter
recommending Cpl. Dunham for the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award
for military valor. "His personal action was far beyond the call of duty and
saved the lives of his fellow Marines."

Recommendations for the Medal of Honor are rare. The Marines say they have
no other candidates awaiting approval. Unlike other awards, the Medal of
Honor must be approved by the president. The most recent act of heroism to
earn the
medal came 11 years ago, when two Army Delta Force soldiers gave their lives
protecting a downed Blackhawk helicopter pilot in Somalia.

Staff Sgt. Ferguson was crossing the street to help when the grenade
exploded. He recalls feeling a hollow punch in his chest that reminded him
of being close to the starting line when dragsters gun their engines. Lance
Cpl. Sanders, approaching the
scene, was temporarily deafened, he says. He assumed all three Marines and
the Iraqi must surely be dead.

In fact, the explosion left Cpl. Dunham unconscious and face down in his own
blood, according to Lance Cpl. Sanders. He says the Iraqi lay on his back,
bleeding from his midsection.

The fight wasn't over, however. To Lance Cpl. Sanders's surprise, the Iraqi
got up and ran. Lance Cpl. Sanders says he raised his rifle and fired 25
shots at the man's back, killing him.

The other two Marines were injured, but alive. Lance Cpl. Hampton was
spitting up blood and had shrapnel embedded in his left leg, knee, arm and
face, according to a military transcript. Pfc. Miller's arms had been
perforated by shrapnel. Yet both
Marines struggled to their feet and staggered back toward the corner.

"Cpl. Dunham was in the middle of the explosion," Pfc. Miller told a Marine
officer weeks later, after he and Lance Cpl. Hampton were evacuated to the
U.S. to convalesce. "If it was not for him, none of us would be here. He
took the impact of the explosion."

At first, Lance Cpl. Mark Edward Dean, a 22-year-old mortarman, didn't
recognize the wounded Marine being loaded into the back of his Humvee. Blood
from shrapnel wounds in the Marine's head and neck had covered his face.
Then Lance Cpl. Dean spotted the tattoo on his chest -- an Ace of Spades and
a skull -- and realized he was looking at one of
his closest friends, Cpl. Dunham. A volunteer firefighter back home in
Owasso, Okla., Lance Cpl. Dean says he knew from his experience with car
wrecks that his friend had a better chance of surviving if he stayed calm.

"You're going to be all right," Lance Cpl. Dean remembers saying as the
Humvee sped back to camp. "We're going to get you home."

When the battalion was at its base in Twentynine Palms, Calif., the two
Marines had played pool and hung out with Lance Cpl. Dean's wife, Becky Jo,
at the couple's nearby home. Once in a while, Lance Cpl. Dean says they'd
round up friends, drive to Las Vegas and lose some money at the roulette
tables. Shortly before the battalion left Kuwait for Iraq,
Lance Cpl. Dean ran short of cash. He says Cpl. Dunham bought him a
550-minute phone card so he could call Becky Jo. He used every minute.

At battalion headquarters in al Qa'im, Chaplain David Slater was in his
makeshift chapel -- in a stripped-down Iraqi train car with red plastic
chairs as pews -- when he heard an Army Blackhawk helicopter take off. The
46-year-old Navy chaplain from Lincoln, Neb. knew that meant the
shock-trauma platoon would soon receive fresh casualties.

Shortly afterward, the helicopter arrived. Navy corpsmen and Marines carried
Cpl. Dunham's stretcher 200 feet to the medical tent, its green floor and
white walls emitting a rubbery scent, clumps of stethoscopes hanging like
bananas over olive-drab trunks of chest tubes, bandages and emergency airway
tubes.

Super Dave
05-26-04, 09:41 AM
The bearers rested the corporal's stretcher on a pair of black metal <br />
sawhorses. A wounded Iraqi fighter was stripped naked on the next stretcher <br />
-- standard practice for all patients, according to...

CplCrotty
05-26-04, 11:00 AM
God bless Cpl. Dunham. On Eagle's Wings. Semper Fidelis

enviro
05-26-04, 11:15 AM
This story made my eyes swell.

Here's the Marine Corps Times story about it. Not as good, though.

Marine recommended for posthumous Medal of Honor

Associated Press


SCIO, N.Y. — A Marine from Allegany County, N.Y., has been recommended by fellow Marines to receive the Medal of Honor, the military’s highest award. Cpl. Jason L. Dunham of Scio, 65 miles southeast of Buffalo, has been credited with saving the lives of two Marines in Karbala on April 14.

According to published reports, Dunham, while struggling with an Iraqi insurgent, placed his helmet and his body on top of a grenade being held by the man to protect two battalion mates. The grenade exploded and Dunham died eight days later at Bethesda Naval Medical Center, Md.

“I deeply believe that given the facts and evidence presented, he clearly understood the situation and attempted to block the blast of the grenade from his squad members,” Lt. Col. Matthew Lopez wrote in a letter recommending Dunham for the Medal of Honor, the Wall Street Journal reported. “His personal action was far beyond the call of duty and saved the lives of his fellow Marines.”

The president, in the name of Congress, has awarded more than 3,400 Medals of Honor since 1861. The last two were awarded to two Army soldiers killed in Somalia in October 1993.

“Dunham will be the first Marine to receive the Medal of Honor for service in combat since Vietnam,” Lance Cpl. Dan Wyatt of Hurricane, W.Va., wrote in a letter published in the Charleston Gazette.

“It seems Dunham was able to make a split-second decision that would ultimately lead to his death but save others,” the letter said.

Marine Corps officials had no information Tuesday about the Medal of Honor recommendation. That information wouldn’t be released until such a high honor were approved, they said.

cjwright90
05-26-04, 11:19 AM
God Bless you Cpl. Dunham. Rest now.

mrbsox
05-26-04, 12:19 PM
Semper Fidelis

And I'll raise a glass to another..

FALLEN BROTHER

May Gods' ever evident peace and love be with your family as they cherish your memory and honor.

'Greater love hath no man, than that he lay down his life...'

Rest in Peace, MARINE

G.L.B.
05-26-04, 01:32 PM
Sorry, I had to bump this to the top so everybody has a chance to read.
Chandler

DSchmitke
05-26-04, 01:36 PM
Rest In Peace Marine....

Super Dave
05-26-04, 01:43 PM
Originally posted by G.L.B.
Sorry, I had to bump this to the top so everybody has a chance to read.
Chandler

Never need to apologize about honoring a bother Marine!

cjwright90
05-26-04, 01:51 PM
This story touches me first rate. I was in Lima 3/7. Hits home when it your unit, doesn't it.

USMC-FO
05-26-04, 02:30 PM
Staggering sadness and ultimate courage in one act. Rest in Peace Marine. You were and always will be our brother.

Semper Fi !

radio relay
05-26-04, 03:22 PM
May God Bless that valiant Marine!
========================

BTW it is possible to survive a grenade. Here's proof:
--------------------------------------
Congressional Medal of Honor

KELLOGG, ALLAN JAY, JR

Rank and organization: Gunnery Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps (then S/Sgt.), Company G, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division

Place and Date and date: Quang Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam, 11 March 1970

Entered service at: Bridgeport, Connecticut

Born 1 October 1943, Bethel, Connecticut

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a platoon sergeant with Company G, in connection with combat operations against the enemy on the night of 11 March 1970. Under the leadership of G/Sgt. Kellogg, a small unit from Company G was evacuating a fallen comrade when the unit came under a heavy volume of small arms and automatic weapons fire from a numerically superior enemy force occupying well-concealed emplacements in the surrounding jungle. During the ensuing fierce engagement, an enemy soldier managed to maneuver through the dense foliage to a position near the marines, and hurled a hand grenade into their midst which glanced off the chest of G/Sgt. Kellogg. Quick to act, he forced the grenade into the mud in which he was standing, threw himself over the lethal weapon and absorbed the full effects of its detonation with his body, thereby preventing serious injury or possible death to several of his fellow marines. Although suffering multiple injuries to his chest and his right shoulder and arm, G/Sgt. Kellogg resolutely continued to direct the efforts of his men until all were able to maneuver to the relative safety of the company perimeter. By his heroic and decisive action in risking his life to save the lives of his comrades, G/Sgt. Kellogg reflected the highest credit upon himself and upheld the finest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service.

thedrifter
05-26-04, 06:04 PM
3 Young Marines Gave Their Lives for the 'Tribe'

The servicemen, all in their early 20s, have been nominated for medals to honor the sacrifice they made defending comrades.

By Tony Perry, Times Staff Writer


FALLOUJA, Iraq — They were young, and they sacrificed their lives for their fellow Marines. Now, the Corps is seeking to honor their bravery.

Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, 22, of Scio, N.Y., dived on a grenade at a checkpoint. He has been nominated for a Medal of Honor.

Lance Cpl. Aaron Austin, 22, of Amarillo, Texas, took the lead in repelling an assault, continuing to fire after being struck several times and finally throwing a grenade to push back the enemy. He has been nominated for a Navy Cross.

Cpl. Kevin T. Kolm, 23, of Hicksville, N.Y., led and was the main gunner in an effort to reach Marines who were surrounded by insurgents and in danger of being killed. He has been nominated for a Bronze Star, with V for Valor.

"Everything they've been taught from the day they put their feet on those yellow footprints [at boot camp] says the Marine Corps is like a tribe," said Brig. Gen. Richard Kramlich. "You're there to do your job so you can take care of your fellow Marines…. It's a single-mindedness."

Here is a look at the three members of the 1st Marine Division, their short lives and violent deaths.

Cpl. Jason L. Dunham

In Scio, a tiny community two hours south of Buffalo, Jason Dunham was a star high school athlete, particularly as a slugger in baseball.

He enlisted through the delayed-entry program before his senior year. His father had served in the Air Force but he joined the Marines, his mother said, "because they were the toughest." Before he shipped out, he had a long talk with his father about funeral arrangements and other matters "in case I don't come home." And his final letter had a prophetic tone. "I'll be home when the time is right," Dunham wrote.

A machine gunner with the 7th Marine Regiment, Dunham led a squad manning a checkpoint near the Syrian border in mid-April.

A U.S. convoy had just been ambushed, and Marines were checking cars for suspects. A car pulled up and a man fled. Dunham gave chase and tackled him. Other Marines came to his aid.

The driver pulled a pin from a grenade; Dunham tried to surround it to spare his buddies. He was grievously wounded and was airlifted for medical attention, ultimately to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland.

"He wanted to save Marines' lives from the grenade," said Lance Cpl. Mark Dean of Owasso, Okla., a mortarman with the company. "God made something special when he made Jason."

"Cpl. Dunham is everybody's hero," said Sgt. Maj. Wayne Bell, the top enlisted man in the 1st Marine Division. "He will be in the history books."

Dunham died 10 days after the incident. Gen. Michael W. Hagee, commandant of the Marine Corps, went to Bethesda to be with Dunham's parents during the final hours.

"We just wish more people in America would put other people first like Jason did," said his mother, Deb.

Lance Cpl. Aaron Austin

Aaron Austin had been a small-town maverick with a wild streak. But those days were gone.

He and his girlfriend had set a wedding date and even picked out the country song to be played at the event, Trace Adkins' "It Was You."

As part of a weapons company with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment, he was part of the "tip of the spear" in the fight for Fallouja. The company fought numerous skirmishes in the Jolan neighborhood in the city's northwest corner.

But the battle of April 26 was bigger than anything the Marines had seen. They were attacked while clearing a house. For two hours the fighting was vicious, with insurgents pushing to within 20 yards of the Marines' position, hurling grenades.

Off duty at the time, Austin ran to the fight, evacuating the wounded and helping to position gunners on the roof. "We need to get that gun back up," he yelled when a gunner, one of 16 casualties, was hit.

With a gunner position open and the insurgents advancing, Austin rushed to close the breach. Hit in the chest several times, he continued to fire his machine gun, refusing to be evacuated.

To get space to throw a grenade, Austin needed to put himself in the line of fire. He did so, was hit again by enemy fire, but scored a bull's-eye.

"Everybody loved Austin. He was a character," said Capt. Douglas Zembiec, commander of Echo Company. "He was a rowdy but you knew that deep down when trouble broke out, he'd be there for you."

Cpl. Kevin T. Kolm

Tall and gregarious, Kevin Kolm is said to have had the personality of a leader. Other Marines flocked to him, enjoying his easy sense of humor and his love of rock 'n' roll. He had the title of a Pearl Jam song, "Release," tattooed on his back.

"He was a friend, a mentor, a really great guy," said Lance Cpl. Matthew Puckett of Mason, Texas.

Kolm's father was a Marine who served in Vietnam, his grandfather a Marine in World War II. He considered no other choice when he decided to enter the military after a year working in construction.

"He was happy and ready to go" into combat, said Master Sgt. Martin Vargas of Los Angeles.

Early in the monthlong battle for Fallouja, Kolm, as mission commander of an amphibious assault vehicle, was given the risky assignment of rescuing Marines pinned down in a building by insurgents.

With Puckett driving and Kolm firing a .50-caliber machine gun, the vehicle was hit by volleys of rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire from several directions. Kolm refused to turn back. The vehicle caught fire.

As it approached the building, Kolm was killed. His body could not be immediately retrieved from the burning vehicle.

But the mission was a success. In tribute, four fellow Marines vowed to have "Release" tattooed on their arms along with the date of Kolm's death.

Capt. Benjamin Venning, Kolm's company commander, said his heroism, as well as that of other Marines that day, came from a desire to live up to "the people who have come before you."

"This was their moment to put their fingerprints on Marine Corps history, a chance to share in that history," Venning said.

http://images.latimes.com/media/thumbnails/photo/2004-05/12788710.jpg

Took the Blow
(AP / Courtesy of the Dunham Family)


http://images.latimes.com/media/thumbnails/photo/2004-05/12788716.jpg

Fierce Fighter
(AP / Courtesy of the Austin Family)



http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-marines26may26,1,1213302.story?coll=la-headlines-world


Ellie