Jason L Dunham
Jason L Dunham was born on the 10th of November, 1981, in Scio, New York. He was raised here and graduated from Scio High School in 2000. After high school, Jason joined the Marine Corps and after training, was a Security Force sentry at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia until 2003. In 2004, Jason was deployed with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, One Maine Expeditionary Force in the Al-Karabilah district of Iraq. It was near Husaybah that Jason would earn the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his 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 seven Iraqi vehicles in a column attempting to depart, Corporal Dunham and his team stopped the vehicles to search them for weapons. As they approached the vehicles, an 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.
Jason was immediately evacuated due to the severity of his wounds. His injuries were treated at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, where he would stay in a coma. Unfortunately, staff said that he was unlikely to recover due to brain damage and shortly after the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Michael Hagee, presented the Purple Heart to Jason, he was taken off of life support and died on the 22nd of April, 2004, with his parents at his side. On the 10th of November 2006, President Bush announced that Jason would receive the Medal of Honor. This would have been Jason’s 25th birthday and for those who know a little about the Marine Corps, is also the Marine Corps’ birthday. Jason L Dunham is buried in the Fairlawn Cemeter in Scio, New York.
