Medal of Honor Winner

[thedrifter]

Medal of Honor Winner

Tuesday , November 14, 2006

This is a partial transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," November 13, 2006, that has been edited for clarity.

Watch "The O'Reilly Factor" weeknights at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET and listen to the "Radio Factor!"

BILL O'REILLY, HOST: In the "Personal Story" segment tonight, President Bush has announced he'll award Marine Corporal Jason Dunham, the nation's highest military honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor.

On April 14th, 2004, the 22-year-old jumped on a grenade in Iraq, saving at least two other Marines from grievous injury. Corporal Dunham himself was critically wounded and died eight days later.

With us now are the corporal's parents, Debra and Daniel Dunham.

Ms. Dunham, we'll begin with you. Why did Jason sign up?

DEBRA DUNHAM, MOTHER OF CPL. JASON DUNHAM: We have four children. And I teach school. Dan works at a factory. And having four children, we couldn't afford to pay for all four kids to go to college full shot.

Jason knew that the G.I. Bill would be beneficial. And we had talk about several different things. And he chose to join the Marines, knowing he'd get a good education...

O'REILLY: Sure.

DEBRA DUNHAM: ...knowing he would get good training. And he would be able to use the G.I. Bill.

O'REILLY: When he got through basic training, never an easy thing, down in Quantico, Virginia.

DEBRA DUNHAM: Yes.

O'REILLY: Very difficult. You must have been proud of him. How did he see his service? Was he happy with it?

DEBRA DUNHAM: Yes, very. He was very proud to wear the uniform of a Marine. The Marines he served with and the Marines that worked with are — were something he was very, very, very proud of.

O'REILLY: And when he was deployed to Iraq, was he happy to go?

DEBRA DUNHAM: I think he was nervous, but Jason felt that there was a job to be done. And that if it wasn't taken care of there, that we would be fighting it here. And it was his job. And he looked at this as a job.

O'REILLY: OK.

Now Mr. Dunham, how do you cope with a loss like that? I mean, he's your son and you're proud of him and he's a hero. How do you cope with it?

DANIEL DUNHAM, FATHER OF CPL. JASON DUNHAM: I don't think you ever do, totally. We tried to do our normal day things that we did before. We have three other children, so we try to do the things we do with them. Me and Debra are very close.

O'REILLY: So it's a close-knit family?

DANIEL DUNHAM: Yes, we...

O'REILLY: How old are the other children?

DANIEL DUNHAM: I have a 24-year-old, one that will be 18 in a couple months, and one that will be 14 next month.

O'REILLY: Oh, and the 14-year-old, I mean, that's a very tender age.

DANIEL DUNHAM: She's my daughter.

O'REILLY: Right.

DANIEL DUNHAM: She's the only girl.

O'REILLY: And how did you deal with...

DANIEL DUNHAM: She's still having difficulty with it, but we explain to her that the things going on especially now are good for Jason. And I don't know, it's hard.

O'REILLY: Yes.

DANIEL DUNHAM: As a parent, you do what you can do.

O'REILLY: Now you're not a political family. You guys aren't demonstrating or you're not involved in that at all.

DANIEL DUNHAM: No.

O'REILLY: And when John Kerry said that statement the other day about he'd wind up in Iraq, did it hit a chord with you at all?

DANIEL DUNHAM: It did me. I felt it wasn't right. But Jason died so people could have the freedom of their speech.

O'REILLY: Absolutely, there's no question.

DANIEL DUNHAM: And so, he has a right to say what he wants.

O'REILLY: And he also died to save his fellow Marines.

DANIEL DUNHAM: Exactly.

O'REILLY: I mean, you know, think about that.

DANIEL DUNHAM: And like I said before, sometimes it's just not about war and politics. It's about friendship. It's about the closeness of the Marines and their brotherhood. It's about putting your life before somebody else's life.

O'REILLY: Absolutely. There's no question about it.

Now when the president gives you, Ms. Dunham, this will be the only second one, the second Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to a combat person in Iraq. Do you have — are you prepared for the emotion of that moment? Because that's going to be something.

DEBRA DUNHAM: No, I don't think so. I'm very proud of Jason. And I wish he were here to be doing this, to accept this himself.

The point that I see with this is we're accepting on Jason's behalf because he's not here to do that, but this is also a symbol publicly of what he is doing. But it's also a symbol of what all of the service personnel are doing. — Whether it's a small, individual private moment that they're helping somebody out, or whether it's an act of valor that is publicly noticed.

O'REILLY: Right. I mean, courage, self-sacrifice for other people who they don't even know — I mean, Iraqis, we don't know them...

DEBRA DUNHAM: Right.

O'REILLY: ...trying to fight for their freedom. And to give up your life for your brother, your fellow Marine officer.

But I mean, it's an amazing achievement. It's something that you'll have forever. And I hope your 14-year-old, Mr. Dunham, understands, you know, how rare this is and how, you know, that's your son's legacy, the Congressional Medal of Honor.

DANIEL DUNHAM: Yes. And we've tried to explain that to her. And I think she's understanding.

O'REILLY: Yes. And she will when you have it. You know, so anyway we honor your son and we appreciate your sacrifice. And thank you for coming in, both of you.

DANIEL DUNHAM: Thank you.

DEBRA DUNHAM: Thank you.

O'REILLY: All right, it was very nice to meet you and talk to you.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Fallen Marine puts duty in perspective
Commentary by Senior Airman Jason Ridder
50th Space Wing Public Affairs

11/14/2006 - SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Editor's Note: This editorial first ran in the June 3, 2004 Satellite Flyer. President Bush announced in a ceremony Nov. 10 that Cpl. Jason Dunham would receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for the actions cited in this commentary.

As part of my duties, I scan the Early Bird, which is a collection of news articles from around the country put together by the Department of Defense that relate to the military. Most mornings there isn't very much that relates to Schriever, but the morning of May 25, 2004, was different.

The story I read that morning was about a Marine corporal almost two years younger than me who is now nominated for the Medal of Honor.

His story exemplifies the Air Force Core Value of Service Before Self. I was recently assigned as a Resource Augmentation Duty (READY) augmentee. At first I was disappointed by the long hours I would have to work and not being able to do the job I love, writing about and photographing what goes on here at Schriever.

After reading what this young corporal did in Iraq, I felt selfish and ashamed.

A few months ago (in April 2004), Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Kilo Company, and two other Marines were in an outpost in Iraq discussing theories on surviving a grenade attack. Cpl. Dunham's theory was that a Kevlar helmet held over the grenade might contain the blast. Unfortunately he was wrong.

On the morning of April 14, Corporal Dunham was in the town of Karabilah, Iraq, leading a 14-man foot patrol to scout sites for a new base, when radio reports came in about a roadside bomb hitting another group of Marines not far away. The radio report said insurgents had ambushed a convoy that included the Battalion Commander.

Corporal Dunham's patrol was en route near the town of Husaybah, Iraq, when they heard the distinctive whizzing sound of rocket-propelled grenades overhead. They split into two teams to hunt for the shooters.

Corporal Dunham's team came to an intersection and saw a line of seven Iraqi vehicles along a dirt alleyway and started checking the vehicles for weapons. He approached a white sport utility vehicle. The driver immediately lunged out and grabbed the corporal by the throat. The corporal kneed the man in the chest, and the two men fell to the ground.

Two other Marines rushed to the scene, a few yards away another Marine heard Corporal Dunham yell, "No, no, no -- watch his hand!"

What appears to have been in the Iraqi man's hand was a "Mills Bomb" hand grenade. The grenade works by pulling a safety pin out and then holding a lever until the user is ready to detonate the weapon. The bomb usually explodes three to five seconds after the lever is released.

Marines later found what they believe to be the pin from the grenade in the truck after the explosion, suggesting the Iraqi man had the grenade in his hand ready to use before he began wrestling with Corporal Dunham.

No one saw exactly what happened after Corporal Dunham yelled out his warning, but they believe the corporal spotted the grenade and placed his helmet and body on top of it to protect his squadmates. The scraps of Kevlar found later, scattered across the street, support their conclusion. His fellow Marines believe Corporal Dunham made a split-second decision to try out his theory that a helmet might blunt the blast from a grenade.

The corporal was rushed to emergency medical care where he was stabilized but in critical condition. He was eventually transferred to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. At one point he was even upgraded to serious condition, however his condition quickly deteriorated and he died April 22.

Next time you are asked to work late, take on additional duties, give up your weekend or make other small sacrifices, remember Corporal Dunham and the sacrifice he made.

When I am called to Augmentee duty, I will be ready for the long shifts, hard work and time away from home. I will be proud to do my part to help free up more Security
Forces Airmen to do the important job of protecting Air Force people and property around the world.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Owasso Marine Remembers Fellow Marine Who Died In Iraq
KOTV - 11/13/2006 9:00 PM - Updated 11/13/2006 9:15 PM

US Marine Sergeant Mark Dean of Owasso earned his medals during three tours of duty in Iraq.

One of his greatest honors was serving with Jason Dunham. “Best guy you'd ever meet in your entire life." President Bush: "And by giving his own life, Corporal Dunham saved the lives of two of his men and showed the world what it means to be a Marine."

Last week, President Bush announced that Corporal Jason Dunham would posthumously receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. Dean was in the same fight that killed Dunham in Iraq back in 2004. While on patrol, Dean says Dunham was in a hand-to-hand fight with an insurgent. "They went down to the ground and that's when Cpl. Dunham said ‘His hands, his hands’, and that's when a grenade rolled out and instant reaction for Cpl. Dunham was take his Kevlar off and put it on top of the grenade and lay on it.”

The blast shredded Dunham's helmet and several days later, he died. Only a few days earlier, Dean remembers commanders asking what to do if a live grenade was thrown at the Marines. “Jason brought up the idea, do you think taking the helmet off and the Kevlar and putting it on top of it, you think that would work? It was already on his mind and he did it in a split second."

Dean says Dunham had a way of relaxing his fellow Marines, either by horsing around with them or flashing a smile. He was Dean's squad leader and so much more. “Like I've always told people, gift from God."

Sergeant Dean says Dunham's heroism saved several other Marines from shrapnel. One of the others nearby Marines, Dean says was Lance Corporal Jason Sanders of McAlester.

Ellie