Marine who shielded his men mourned

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4044001,00.html

....

Dunham, 22, died just over a week ago from wounds he sustained April 14 in Iraq.

A report from the Marine Corps said Dunham was commanding a check point near Karbala when a man got out of a car and tried to flee. Dunham tackled the man, who then pulled a pin from a hand grenade. Dunham dove onto the grenade before it exploded, the Marines reported. Two other Marines were injured.

Dunham, with K Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, was remembered in Iraq on Thursday at a service attended by more than 500 Marines, sailors and soldiers, the Marines reported.

Dunham ``never judged anyone and he never judged the people over there,'' friend Justin Lambert said at Saturday's funeral. ``He was just doing his job. He's going to be missed.''

<more>.

will Dunham be counted as a KIA or not counted at all. Damn Bu$hCo et al.

the Repubs would have morphed his picture into Osama.
That is one sick bunch.

son, brother, friend, husband or loved one, and while he'll be mentioned in the press now, it will be fleeting and he'll be just another of the the over 700 nameless, faceless dead soldiers to the rest of the country.

So terribly sad every time this happens. These families will never be the same again.

:cry:

He could have taken the safe path and shot just another Iraqi and instead he laid his life on the line for the people around him. That's a true hero to me.

http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13

...although conspicuous and selfless acts of courage are admirable and extraordinary. This hero mantra is disturbing. (I don't mean in this particular instance, but in general.)

>>"Now this is a guy who I have no problem calling a hero"

Who is being called a here that you object to?

I hate it when I hit the return button too soon.

but this guy WAS a hero.

The overwhelming majority of those recognized as heroes are those whose acts of self-sacrifice have saved the lives of others, both allies and 'enemy.'

Was Cpl. Dunham's death recorded as "killed in action"?

http://www.militarycity.com/valor/2860493.html

Where's the official source?

If you pick up the grenade and throw it the hell out of there? That's how they do in in the Army.

The man did a courageous thing.

What if he was surrounded by innocent bystanders? Does the Army recommend lobbing live grenades into crowds of onlookers?

...horse's ass, or are you just pretending to be one?

I'm new here, so I don't want to offend too much.... yet.

Our Gunny told us that if a grenade came into our position.... "Don't jump on it and be a hero.... grab someone smaller than you, throw him on the grenade, and make him a hero."

Seriously, if you have a hard time understanding how somebody could die for their friends, you have no idea what combat is like. You don't have a mother or father or wife or girlfriend anymore... you only have your unit. They're the only ones on earth who really know you and can relate to your world. It's why guys come back early from R & R's and from medical leave. after being wounded.

Hopefully they'll live to return to their real families and become people again.

Didn't he dive on a grenade to save his brothers?

Only lost three limbs because of it.... if he'd have lost all four, maybe the chickenhawks wouldn't have questioned his patriotism and compared him to Osama Bin Ladin.

One of the lies the rightwingnut chickenhawks were spreading was that it was his own grenade.

A guy in his unit came forward and said it was his. Nothing from the chickenhawks by way of an apology.

"A greanade is an equal-opportunity weapon... the thrower and the throwee are both in danger."