Last week, the Department of Defense released the obituaries of 18 military personnel killed in Iraq, ranging in age from 19 to 42, and four killed in Afghanistan, ranging in age from 19 to 40.
Total U.S. deaths have amounted to 2,838 in and around Iraq, through Thursday, 11/9, and 289 in and around Afghanistan, throughTuesday, 11/7, according to the Pentagon.
President Bush announced on Friday that Marine Corporal Jason Dunham of Scio, New York, would be posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation's highest decoration for valor.
Dunham will be the first Marine to receive the medal of honor since the war in Vietnam. He was a machine gunner with Kilo Company, 3rd Batallion, 7th Marine Regiment, based in Twentynine Palms, California.
Back in April, 2004, he was leading a squad manning a checkpoint in an Iraqi town near the border with Syria. As he searched a vehicle, an insurgent jumped out and engaged him in hand-to-hand combat.
Dunham shouted to his fellow Marines, "watch his hand," following which a grenade rolled out, according to the president's comments.
Bush added:"Corporal Dunham did not hesitate; he jumped on the grenade to protect his fellow Marines." He used his body and his helmet and, as a result, he saved the lives of two of his comrads.
Jason died from his wounds eight days later.
He would have celebrated his 25th birthday on Friday.
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Comments: 7
Joe T., the turning point that resulted in our failed policy in Iraq occurred with the inception of the Iraq Interim Authority and the rule of Paul Bremer. Gosh, I hate to nominate a "fall guy" since we have a terribly good candidate in the White House. But ... we essentially fired the Iraqi military (guess who they went to next door and signed up with), pissed off any remaining, sympathetic Baathists, and pronounced distinctly to every hopeful soul in Iraq that the infidels were in charge. The year of 2003-2004 must go down as "The Year of Living Stupidly."
The White House website retains a video of the GWB May 2003 aircraft carrier "victory" speech. They've edited it, cropping off the huge "Mission Accomplished" banner above Bush, shifting the image up and leaving a black band across the bottom of the screen. Like Heart of Darkness or the allusion in Apocalypse Now, we landed, without understanding, in a place where we don't know the language.
The amazing thing about Medal Of Honor recipients who actually survive is that they don't view their actions as heroic. They just see it as doing what neede to be done to save the lives of their comrades.
Another thought to keep in mind is that for every recipient of the Medal of Honor there are probably many others who deserve similar recognition but for reasons probably unrelated to their bravery in action, the medal goes to someone else.
An example is Pfc. Christopher Adlesperger, a native of Albuequerque, another Marine who was also nominated for the nation's highest award.
After a comrade was killed in a battle in Fallouja, Adlesperger attacked the insurgent stronghold responsible for his friend's death and killed at least 11 insurgents. He killed them with his M-16 and with his grenade launcher. He killed them at such close range, "he could hear the blood gurgling in their mouths and noses," according to an article in the LA Times.
At the same time, he protected two wounded squad members from attack and saved innumerable Marines. When it was over, his face was bloodied by shrapnel and he had bullet holes in the sleeve and collar of his uniform.
He refused to be evacuated until his friend's body was recovered.
One month later, Adlesperger led Marines in storming another building, at which time he was shot in the heart and died instantly.
And I'm sure there are many more heroes that we never read about....