Marine to receive Medal of Honor for Iraq heroism

(CNN) -- President Bush announced on Friday that the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration, will be awarded posthumously to Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham.

In April 2004, Dunham was leading a patrol in an Iraqi town near the Syrian border when the patrol stopped a convoy of cars leaving the scene of an attack on a Marine convoy, according to military and media accounts of the action.

An occupant of one of the cars attacked Dunham and the two fought hand to hand. As they fought, Dunham yelled to fellow Marines, "No, no watch his hand." The attacker then dropped a grenade and Dunham hurled himself on top of it, using his helmet to try to blunt the force of the blast.

Still, Dunham was critically wounded in the explosion and died eight days later at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland.

Continued (http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/10/medal.honor/index.html)

I remember this young man dying. I have thought about what he did many, many, many times.

To put this into perspective, there have only been three Medal of Honor recipients since the Vietnam War; two in Somalia and one in Iraq. CPL Dunham will be the fourth. All of them were killed in the act for which they were awarded.

From everything I've read, this young man displayed true heroism in the face of death. Many good men owe their lives to CPL Dunham. May they always remember.
May all of us honor the memories of those who died in the defense of their country.

Semper-fi!

By the way, es, did you get my PM?

Check yours

In a different less partisan time, this hero, and others, would be getting more of the recognition they deserve.