shawa
CNO
Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Posts: 2004
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 Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 12:58 pm Post subject: Medal of Honor |
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| Quote: | MEDAL METTLE CHOKES UP W.
HONOR FOR NYER WHO DIVED ON IRAQ GRENADE
By TODD VENEZIA
November 11, 2006 -- President Bush welled up with tears on the eve of Veterans Day yesterday, dabbing his eye after announcing he will award America's highest military distinction to a heroic New York Marine who died in Iraq.
Cpl. Jason Dunham will be posthumously given the Congressional Medal of Honor for a selfless act that most people think happens only in the movies - jumping on a live grenade to save his comrades.
ULTIMATE SACRIFICE: Cpl. Jason Dunham of upstate Scio, hugging his mom Debra before shipping off for Iraq, was killed there in 2004 after he bore the brunt of an explosion to save fellow Marines.
"As long as we have Marines like Corporal Dunham, America will never fear for her liberty," Bush said in the speech in which he both announced the award and commemorated the opening of the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Va.
"You might say that he was born to be a Marine," the president added on what would have been Dunham's 25th birthday.
The machine gunner from Scio, 80 miles southeast of Buffalo, earned his medal April 14, 2004, when an Iraqi man attacked him at a checkpoint in Karabilah near the Syrian border.
"An insurgent jumped out and grabbed the corporal by the throat," Bush told the crowd of about 10,000, which included Dunham's mother and father.
"The corporal engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. At one point, he shouted to his fellow Marines, 'No, no, no, watch his hand.'
"Moments later, an enemy grenade rolled out. Corporal Dunham did not hesitate; he jumped on the grenade to protect his fellow Marines. He used his helmet and his body to absorb the blast."
The 22-year-old Marine died from his wounds eight days later.
The story of his last act was part of the book "A Gift of Valor," which chronicled his battalion's travails in 2004.
Dunham is among the more than 2,800 members of the U.S. military who have lost their lives in the Iraq conflict.
Dunham will be the second member of the armed services to get the Medal of Honor in Iraq. Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul Smith won the award posthumously for his actions on April 4, 2003, near Baghdad Airport.
Smith personally organized a defense with a handful of soldiers and was mortally wounded while manning a machine gun under heavy fire.
The new Marine museum dedicated yesterday in Quantico is shaped like the iconic photo of Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima in World War II.
Meanwhile, in New York, a memorial was erected yesterday to a solider from another war - who was among the youngest ever to die in service of the United States.
A group called the Friends of the Vietnam Veteran Plaza held a ceremony on Water Street to honor Pvt. Dan Bullock, who - unbeknownst to his comrades - was 14 when he joined the Marines during the Vietnam War, and 15 when he died.
On June 7, 1969, the Brooklyn boy was killed by small-arms fire while running to get ammunition to replenish his company's position, which was under heavy attack.
Franklin McArthur, his boot-camp buddy, said he was shocked to learn that Bullock was really a child who wasn't old enough to drive, let alone fight.
"He could have said, 'I'm 15. I'm going home,' but he stayed and fought for his country," McArthur said.
NY Post |
And these are the valorous men Kerry would label stupid??
God Bless our soldiers and their families.
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“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.” (Thomas Paine, 1776) |
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