Donald Trump’s recent statement on the Congressional Medal of Honor brought back my memory of Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham and a call I got from the White House.
Trump said he believed the Presidential Medal of Freedom was “much better” than the Congressional Medal of Honor whose recipients are usually “dead” or in “very bad shape.”
The statement displays vacuous moral character and lack of comprehension of what courage, sacrifice and service to America means.
I could go on, but rather than write about Trump, I prefer to detail the life, death and heroic, inspirational example of Jason Dunham.
Cpl. Dunham, 22, was the second soldier in the Iraq War to be honored with the Medal of Honor. His remarkable display of courage and sacrifice was detailed in the book, “The Gift of Valor,” by Michael Phillips.
Dunham was from Scio New York, a rural area about 80 miles from Buffalo, where I worked for the Buffalo News.
I wrote a story about Dunham and his family when the book came out in 2005. Dunham died from combat injuries suffered on April, 14, 2004. He led a 14-man foot patrol into an Iraqi town. As Phillips detailed in his book:
They were met by a line of seven Iraqi vehicles along a dirt alleyway. An Iraqi approached the patrol and grabbed Dunham by the throat.
The Iraqi had a grenade in his hand and Dunham yelled to two Marines near him, “no, no, no, watch his hand.”
The grenade rolled loose, and the two other Marines believe Dunham placed his helmet and body over it to protect them. It exploded, and Dunham lay face down and unconscious in his blood.
Pfc. Kelly Miller, 21, was nearby. He told Phillips: “If it was not for him, none of us would be here. He took the impact of the explosion.”
Dunham was mortally wounded but survived. He was eventually flown to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md, where he died, on April 22, 2004.
I talked to fellow Marine Mark Dean, who was near Dunham after the explosion.
“I think about him every day,” Dean told me. “Cpl. Dunham had a gift from God,” he added, his voice breaking. “Everybody who came in contact with him wanted to be like him.
“He was the toughest Marine but the nicest guy. He would do anything for you. Cpl. Dunham was the kind of person everybody wants as their best friend. It’s hard to explain in words.”
Phillips, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, wrote a front-page story on Dunham’s actions. “I never met Jason, but I kept hearing about him,” he told me. “You hear about a man who jumped on a grenade and could get the Medal of Honor, and right away you know it’s a good story.”
After the story came out, Dunham’s family in Scio received nearly 1,000 letters. “Everybody seemed touched about one young man who gave everything for his country,” Phillips said.
Think of those words: “he gave everything for his country.” For those who don’t understand, that is what the Medal of Honor represents.
Shortly before his death, Jason Dunham phoned his mother from Iraq. “I just felt he was saying good-bye,” Deb Dunham told me.
His family later learned he was recommended for the Medal of Honor. “It won’t bring back my son but I believe Jason is deserving of the Medal,” Deb Dunham said.
Mark Dean shared that sentiment.
“I was there and I believe he deserves the Medal,” Dean told me. “I don’t know what more you can do.”
After the story came out, I received a call from the White House. President George W. Bush was mentioning Cpl. Dunham in a speech and was going to use part of my story in it. He quoted parts of my story in a Nov, 2006 speech, when he announced Cpl. Dunham would receive the Medal of Honor.
On January 11, 2007, in the East Room of the White House, the Medal of Honor was presented to the family of Jason Dunham.
“The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor a President can bestow,” Bush said. “The Medal is given for gallantry in the face of an enemy attack that is above and beyond the call of duty. The Medal is part of a cherished American tradition that began in this house with the signature of President Abraham Lincoln.”
Bush added:
“Since World War II, more than half of those who have been awarded the Medal of Honor have lost their lives in the action that earned it. Corporal Jason Dunham belongs to this select group.
“On a dusty road in western Iraq, Corporal Dunham gave his own life so that the men under his command might live. This morning it’s my privilege to recognize Corporal Dunham’s devotion to the Corps and country — and to present his family with the Medal of Honor.”
Bush then touched on what the Medal of Honor really means:
“As a Marine, he was taught that honor, courage and commitment are not just words. They’re core values for a way of life that elevates service above self.”
President Bush understood that “service above self” was in the fabric of Jason Dunham’s being and in the souls of America’s fighting forces. That’s what the Medal of Honor is all about. It’s a lesson all politicians should learn.
Tony Violanti writes for Villages-News.com
