I’ll let his actions speak for themselves:

In April 2004, Dunham, a 22-year-old corporal, received a report that a Marine convoy had been ambushed, according to a Marine Corps account. Dunham led his men to the site near Husaybah, halting a convoy of departing cars.

An insurgent in one of the vehicles grabbed him by the throat when he went to search the car and the two fought. A grenade was dropped, and Dunham covered the explosive with his Kevlar helmet, which along with his chest plate absorbed some of the blast.

He died a few days later.

“I’ve lost my son but he became a part of history,” Dunham’s mother, Deb, said after the ceremony. “It still hurts as a parent, but the pride that you have from knowing he did the right thing makes it easier.”

It’s hard to say anything about Dunham that could compare with what his life and death say about him. May he rest in peace.

There’s much more about Dunham, his life, his deeds, and the people he left behind at my blog.

Update: He was born on the USMC’s birthday.

More on Dunham, from the Malkin archives.

Update: Greyhawk has the official citation.

Update: Just changed the headline to “recipient.” It had occurred to me that “winner” might not be proper, but I decided to let it lie as a generic word for “getting an award. But a couple people e-mailed, so it is changed. Thanks for the heads-up, and sorry for the mistake.

I’m having formatting problems, which is why I didn’t just go ahead and cross-post it here. Will keep trying.

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