Honor Courage Commitment

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his own life for his friends.
If you don't firmly believe this passage with all your heart, body, mind, and soul, don't even think about joining The Marines!
Corporal Jason Dunham was a 22 year old Marine from New York. And on April 14th 2004, God called Cpl Dunham to lay down his life and make the ultimate sacrifice. Cpl Dunham and a squad of Marines were en route to assist another squad of Marines in the middle of an ambush in western Iraq. During this time, an insurgent unexpectedly leaped onto Dunham and began to attack him. As two Marines swiftly came to his aid, Dunham saw the insurgent reaching for something. Dunham then screamed "No, no, no..watch his hand!"
The frisky Iraqi was reaching for a grenade. If you have ever had the experience of handling and throwing live grenades, you know that it does not take much effort to pull the pin and employ the deadly explosive. That being said, Dunham was unable to stop the enemy from releasing the deadly weapon. The live grenade should have easily took the lives of at least three Marines. But because of Cpl Dunhams love, friendship, and selfless attitude, he offered his own life and jumped on the grenade.
For those who don't know, a grenade only takes 3-5 seconds to explode after releasing it. Which means that Dunham had very little time to think and react. It is extremely obvious that there was no thinking involved whatsoever. Dunham wanted his friends to live. Long before his deployment to Iraq, along with any other Marine, Dunham knew he would do what was necessary to save the lives of other Marines around him.
Cpl Dunham was an admirable hero before he even left the states. His enlistment and time of service in the Corps had expired. Therefore, he was not required to leave his family and travel with his Marine battalion into harms way. But because of his commitment to the Corps and the other Marines around him, he did. Another Marine told him that he was crazy for extending his enlistment. Jason Dunham answered "I want to make sure everyone makes it home alive."

Jason Dunham: November 10, 1981- April 22, 2004
God bless the family of Jason Dunham.