Jason Dunham

Covering a live grenade, he shielded the Marines beside him.

Jason Lee Dunham was born on 10 November 1981 and grew up at Scio, New York. After finishing high school, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2000. He served in the security forces at the naval submarine base at Kings Bay, Georgia, before joining the infantry. By 2004 he was a corporal and squad leader with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines.

On 14 April 2004 his squad was patrolling at Karabilah, Iraq, when firing broke out near the battalion commander's convoy. Dunham led his men towards the engagement to provide support. After dismounting, his team stopped a column of Iraqi vehicles to search them for weapons.

An insurgent sprang from one of the vehicles and attacked Dunham. During the struggle the man released a grenade. Dunham immediately warned the Marines nearby, then covered it with his helmet and body. The explosion inflicted catastrophic injuries on him but shielded at least two of his comrades from the main force of the blast.

Evacuated from Iraq, he died of his wounds at Bethesda Naval Hospital on 22 April, eight days after the action. He was 22. His family brought him home for burial in Fairlawn Cemetery at Scio.

President George W. Bush presented Dunham's posthumous Medal of Honor to his parents at the White House on 11 January 2007. The Navy named the destroyer USS Jason Dunham in his honour, while a building at Kings Bay commemorated his earlier service there.

Official Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a 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.