USMC Cpl. Jason Dunham: One second, one decision

In the spring 2004, the Iraq city of Fallujah was under siege, and the border town of Husaybah became one of the most lethal postings in Iraq. It was here, on a dusty street on April 14, that 22-year-old Cpl. Jason Lee Dunham made a decision that would save his fellow Marines.

Dunham was serving as a squad leader with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines. His unit deployed to Husaybah, a town on the Syrian border known for smuggling insurgents and weapons into Iraq.

That morning, his unit responded to a report of an ambush on a Marine convoy. While moving to intercept, Dunham attempted to restrain an Iraqi insurgent who was trying to flee. In the struggle, the man dropped a live grenade onto the road.

What happened next took less than a second.

Dunham shouted a warning to the Marines around him, pulled off his helmet, pressed it down over the grenade, and threw himself on top of it. He absorbed nearly the entire explosion as the grenade detonated beneath him. Lance Corporal William Hampton and Lance Corporal Mark Dean were wounded within the blast radius but survived.

Dunham was evacuated immediately to military medical facilities in the region, then flown to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland, where his family rushed to be by his side. He never regained consciousness. On April 22, 2004, eight days after the ambush, he died of his wounds.

On Nov. 10, 2006, the 231st birthday of the United States Marine Corps, President Bush presented the Medal of Honor to Dunham’s parents, Dan and Deb Dunham.

Corporal Jason Dunham is buried at Fairlawn Cemetery in Scio, N.Y., with full military honors. Additionally, the USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109) was named in his honor.

He was the first Marine to receive the Medal of Honor for actions in the Iraq War and remains one of the most celebrated Marines of the Post-9/11 era.