Guest Book

Hey all- Happy Veterans Day. I had dinner with a friend last night who is a veteran, a 32 year old Marine Lt. who served in Iraq on the Syrian border, and who fought against thet worst of the worst, Al Qeada, who fought to the death. He is being reviewed for the Bronze Star with Combat V. He told me the story of Corporal Dunham, who is going to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously. He was with Corporal Dunham the day he sacrificed everything, so that one day his fellow Marines could return to their families, even though he would not. As my friend fought back tears after dinner, he told me about the most amazing act of selflessness and heroism. He credits Corporal Dunham with saving his life and the lives of several other Marines. I thought the story was worth repeating because I read so many negative things everyday that I forget where we live. Last night, I sat and just listened to my friend, and I realized that, warts and all, we live in the greatest place on the planet. We owe a great deal of that to our veterans. Thank you to all veterans, especially the ones who never made it home. ------------------------------------------------- Local Marine honored for his bravery in Iraq Nov. 10 The day before Veterans' Day, President Bush announced a Marine corporal from the southern tier will be awarded the Medal of Honor. It's the military's highest honor and this is just the second Medal of Honor handed out in the Iraq War. The announcement came on Friday, the same day Marine Corporal Jason Dunham, of Scio in Allegany County, would have turned 25. The new National Museum of the Marine Corps in Virginia was also dedicated Friday, the Marine Corp's 231st birthday. “Jason's birthday is November 10th, so you might say that we was born to be a Marine,” said President Bush. He died a hero. It was April 2004 when a marine convoy was attacked in Iraq. Cpl. Dunham led his squad to the site, where he and his men stopped the insurgents, but one of those insurgents grabbed Cpl. Dunham's throat. “Cpl. engaged the enemy in hand to hand combat. At one point he shouted to his fellow marines 'No, no, no watch his hand.'Moments later an enemy grenade rolled out. Cpl. Dunham did not hesitate, he jumped on the grenade to protect his fellow marines,” said President Bush. Cpl. Dunham died eight days later. Since then, Cpl. Dunham's family met President Bush. In March, he signed a declaration allowing the Scio Post Office to be renamed in Cpl. Dunham's honor. It was then that News 10NBC spoke with his mother. "Generations from now the kids will be able to show their children 'This was named after my brother, this is what he did.' And they can go back forever and if somebody in the town, even if they move into the town, [asks] who was Cpl. Dunham? This is who he was, this is what he did, and he's going to be remembered,” said Dunham’s mother, Deb. Friday, his parents were with President Bush in Virginia, when he announced an even greater honor. “I'm proud to announce that our nation will recognize Cpl. Jason Dunham's action with America's highest decoration for valor, The Medal of Honor,” said President Bush. The White House says the medal will actually be awarded at a future date. Since the Civil War, only 3,460 Medals of Honor have been awarded.