Poster from Murdroc Online

H/T: A commenter on Littel Green Footballs of a CNN Report:

Marine to receive Medal of Honor for Iraq heroism

November 10, 2006

President Bush on Friday will announce that the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration, will be awarded posthumously to Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham.

In April 2004, Dunham was leading a patrol in an Iraqi town near the Syrian border when the patrol stopped a convoy of cars leaving the scene of an attack on a Marine convoy, according to military and media accounts of the action.

An occupant of one of the cars attacked Dunham and the two fought hand to hand. As they fought, Dunham yelled to fellow Marines, “No, no watch his hand.” The attacker then dropped a grenade on which Dunham threw himself.

Dunham was critically wounded in the explosion and died eight days later at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Washington.

“His was a selfless act of courage to save his fellow Marines,” Sgt. Maj. Daniel A. Huff of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, was quoted as saying in Marine Corps News that April.

“He new what he was doing,” Lance Cpl. Jason A. Sanders, 21, of McAllester, Oklahoma, who was in Dunham’s company, was quoted as saying by Marine Corps News. “He wanted to save Marines’ lives from that grenade.”

In various media accounts, fellow Marines told how Dunham had extended his enlistment shortly before he died so he could help his comrades.

“We told him he was crazy for coming out here,” Lance Cpl. Mark E. Dean, 22, from Owasso, Oklahoma, said in Marine Corps News. “He decided to come out here and fight with us. All he wanted was to make sure his boys made it back home.”

The Scio, New York, native would have been 25 years old on Friday.

Dunham’s story was told in the book “The Gift of Valor,” written by Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Phillips.

Dunham will be the second American to receive the Medal of Honor from service in Iraq.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith was the other, honored for action near Baghdad International Airport in April 2003, in which he killed as many as 50 enemy combatants while helping wounded comrades to safety. Smith was the only U.S. soldier killed in the battle.

Good question, however, the correct day to wonder where an Air Force guy went.

Some would call it “AWOL,” but the real term is “UA” for “unathorized absense.”

Last time this happened (Scott O’Grady), it was the MARINES who saved his grounded tail.

How appropriate, on the very day we honor the 231th birthday of the CORPS, that we have to ponder this question. The good news is: We already know how to fix it: Send for the MARINES!

If you’ve seen John, tell him to get back on task and let VC know the MARINES aren’t required to leave the bar and interupt their celebrations!

You’d think he would have come up on distress by now, hollering for th PJs to get him back to the O Club…..

Today, In honor of the 231st Birthday, I’m posting the donation button for Team Marines.

We Navy guys have been hauling them all over the world to get to “the office,” all the while as they are eating all the ice cream and bitching complaining that they’ve seen all the movies.

Once more, it looks like the Marines could use a lift to get to where they can then be successful, and here it is:

Warning to you Grunts: I have no ice cream, the weight room is the pay for gym down the street and where I live and sleep won’t rock you to sleep, but I can offer “support” for your cause.

VC, how about spread the word: Donation Button for TEAM USMC, no waiting line!

(so that the Army can get ashore, too)

It’s a long time in history from Tun Tavern in 1775, but, what began then is a “society” of special men and now women, who proudly display the crimson and gold emblem in far greater numbers than the rest of us services.

The battles fought are burned into our nations history, and now, as the young men and women of “The Corps” bear the brunt of the percentage of casualties in the War on Terror, the USMC has shown it’s ability to operate further from the water, in a more and more technologically sophisticated force, and many more names of battles grace our history.

Once a Marine, Always a Marine is a truism you can count on.

As a beginning blogger, in 2004, I tried to say it well in this posting:

You just have to love an institution that breeds a loyalty with humility, and a strength with purpose, that then has benefited this Nation and all who have come in contact with these remarkable few and proud people.

I salute you, Marines, old, young, retired, veterans, male and female, for your timeless dedication to something worthy of preservation, the UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS!

Larry at Last Refuge of a Scoundrel blog has a great tribute up here.

Also read the words of a young Marine, I tracked down last January in this post: “I am a Marine.” He gets it…\

Update 11/10/2006 (Lifted from Villanous Company), the words of a Marine:

MARINES come in all shapes, shades, weights, sizes, & states of sobriety, misery, & confusion. He is sly as a fox, has the nerve of a dope addict, the stories of an old sailor, the sincerity of a politician, & the subtlety of Mt. Saint Helen. He’s extremely irresistible, totally irrational & completely indestructible.

A Marine is a Marine all his life. He is a magical creature. You can kick him out of your house but not out of your heart. You can take him off your mailing list but not off your mind. Marines are found everywhere… in love…in battle… in lust… in trouble…in debt… in bars & behind them. No one can write so seldom and yet think so much of you. No one else can get so much enjoyment out of a letter or clean clothes or a 6 pack.

A Marine is a genius with a deck of cards. A millionaire without a cent and brave without a grain of sense. He is the PROTECTOR OF AMERICA, with the latest copy of Playboy in his back pocket. When he wants something it’s usually 30 days leave, music that hurts the ears, a five dollar bill…or A WOMAN HE CAN COUNT ON.

Girls love them, mothers tolerate them, fathers brag about them, the government pays them, the police watch out for them & somehow they all work together. You can beat their bodies but not their minds.

You can tame their hearts but not their souls. He likes girls, females, women, ladies. He dislikes small checks, working weekends, answering letters, eating chow, waking up, maintaining a uniform, & the day before payday.

You may as well give in. He is your long distance lover… He is your steel eyed, warm smiling, blank minded, hyperactive, over reacting, curious, passive, talented spontaneous, physically fit, good for nothing bundle of worry…..

And will always be there for you regardless of how long it’s been since you’ve last talked.

News you can use about the Marines: The Marine Corps Museum is opening this weekend, well, the VIPs will be in there, but you can visit it beginning November 13th!

A young women, who raised her right hand, went to Parris Island, but found out she had a conditon that precluded her from becoming a Marine, is staying in the game. Now volunteering at the USO, and working to fill boxes for the Marines for the holiday season. Here’s her request:

Most of you know how I support the military, particularly the Marine Corps. This year I was asked if I would adopt some deployed Marines for Christmas. I was like “Sure!” expecting two or three… Well, I have a platoon of 25 Marines in my care. At first I was overwhelmed and said “I can’t do this!” but then it hit me that I CAN and WILL. Everything has to be shipped by Thanksgiving is the part that is going to be the most difficult.

For the platoon, we provide Christmas decorations–a small Christmas tree, Santa hat and beard, Christmas CD, etc. Things to make their little area festive. I know that may sound dumb, but I can also see how it would help to boost their morale.

Also for the platoon, we provide group gifts–things they can enjoy together. Suggested ideas were DVD’s (no war movies) and games… I am not the most imaginative of people so if you have any ideas, don’t hesitate to let me know!

Individually, we have a handmade stocking (my grandmother is making those) filled with small wrapped gifts for each person in the platoon. I’m having trouble with ideas for those, as well.

The Operation Santa USMC website is: http://www.marinecorpsfamilyfoundation.org/santa.html

And I’ve blogged about it here: http://politicsofapatriot.blogspot.com/2006/10/not-so-trivial-pursuits.html

If you are willing to help in any way, please drop me an e-mail ASAP at [email protected] or give me a call. Thank you!

Sounds like an easy thing to pitch in for. Please vist Holly’s site and see if you can help out cheering up the men on the front lines in the fight.

Revillie, REVILLE! All hands heave out and trice up!

Today is a decision day. Yes, local and national seats are up for election, but the inertia imparted in that mess rolling downhill has been imparted and with minor exception, the die is cast. We will jst have to wait out today to see the results.

My directive of the day: Do something constructive and forget about chewing your fingernails down to the quick, trying to figure out which party will control the House and the Senate, or the 30+ governorships.

What to do? Get back on task, because, Sgt Hook told us a few days ago, there is a more important mission. Nothing like a crusty old senior enlisted, tempered in the fires of the school of hard knocks to get he “Os” back on focus.

Valour-IT. Huge success last year. Beth said “Goal of $22K.” The Type As among us took that to read “$22K per service team.” Wisely she kept her mouth shut and kept us in the dark until the end, then told us what she really meant, about $108K later. we didn’t have a lot of press coverage, we had bloggers contacting everyone they knew and posting about it. My point? This year, we’re not on the flight path for a smooth landing.

Smadanek’s blog has been tracking our progress, as a whole and as teams. Capt Lex, with all his years of staring at “ROGER, BALL!” on the blunt end of a big gray thing (called “Mother” and kept afloat by those unnamed heroes wearing black shoes), would, metaphorically see himself looking at a red lower half of a circle and be hearing a frantic Landing Signal Officer on the radio yelling “Power! POWER!” if his plane is where we are now.

It comes down to this: We need to consider the warrior pledge, where soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines know no one gets left behind. We can’t afford, after the sacrifices these wounded men and women have made, to psychologically leave them on that battlefield where their wounds reshaped their lives forever. we have the means to help them see they can be productive in the job market, and they are no less important than Steven Hawking. We can give them a voice to express their ideas, to write reports, to carry on conversations, to tell their stories, to rech out to others, to provide hope where there seems to be none.

Enough for now. get to the polls, cast your vote and get back on task. If you’re signed on as part of the Navy Team and you don’t have a lengthy email titled “A few days left” from me, get me your address, and I’ll forward it.

One idea has come in overnight worth sharing: Enrevanche says try matching funds. For those who can afford it, it may pull a few more dollars through the door.

The last thought: Make contacts, today and throught the end of this drive, like some service member”s future depends on you.

Update: 8/11/2006: More thoughts here.

Trackbacked to: Outside the Beltway, Sgt Hook.

…report to the West Coast for duty.

OOOOOOOORAH!!!!

A few days ago, as the media’b’Allah was full of printed ‘shouts’ of “Tet! TET! TEEETTTT!!!!!,” I posted some of my thoughts on the similarities and differences of the analogy of the Tet Offensive in Vietnam and the War on Terror now. David of Third World County added to the analysis on his blog.

This morning, while scanning Town Hall, I came across this editorial from someone who comprehends the issue far better than I ever will, LtCol. Oliver North, USMC (Ret).

He was on the ground in that war, as an Marine Officer in an infantry company. I was still in High School, but we see the issue form a common view point:

The war in Vietnam wasn’t lost during “Tet ’68” no matter what Cronkite said. Rather, it was lost in the pages of America’s newspapers, on our televisions, our college campuses — and eventually in the corridors of power in Washington. We need to pray that this war isn’t lost the same way.

Amen, brother, amen!

Welcome LGF readers. I hope this post helps improve your hope for the future.

Some would say we are disconnecting more in the Internet era. Some would say we’re connecting more. Because of the Internet, we can all share in this story:

From John of OPFOR Blog: Cpl Patrick R Nixon, USMC, died in Iraq Mach 23, 2003. Via an article in Smithsonian magazine, Patrick’s father, David Nixon, was connected to an Iraqi living in the marsh area of Iraq, Dr. Azzam Alwash.

Below is a link that shows you a very basic construct of functional societies: Some go forward to protect and lose their lives. Others benefit. The benefactors proclaim their thankfulness for the sacrifice. Read and understand and know there are those who value the sanctity of life. These ones are the “Marsh Arabs” of Iraq.

Warning: If you cry easily, or even with difficulty, make sure you’re ready in case you do.

“A People Have Been Set Free”

H/T: Gulf Coast Pundit

Also, while you’re here, please consider learning more about the Valour-IT project that provides laptops and voice activated software to our disabled service members. I posted about it here. Thank you for your interest and possible assistance in this wonderful work.

It might be true, it might be not, but it came into my email inbox today:

LETTER FROM A FARM KID
(NOW AT San Diego MARINE CORPS RECRUIT TRAINING)

Dear Ma and Pa,

I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before all of the places are filled.

I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m. but I am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot, and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing.

Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there’s warm water. Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food, but tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys that live on coffee. Their food plus yours holds you until noon when you get fed again. It’s no wonder these city boys can’t walk much.

We go on “route marches,” which the platoon sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it’s not my place to tell him different. A “route march” is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks.

The country is nice but awful flat. The sergeant is like a school teacher. He nags a lot. The Captain is like the school board. Majors and colonels just ride around and frown. They don’t bother you none.

This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting. I don’t know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don’t move, and it ain’t shooting at you like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don’t even load your own cartridges. They come in boxes.

Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break real easy. It ain’t like fighting with that ole bull at home. I’m about the best they got in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake. I only beat him once. He joined up the same time as me, but I’m only 5’6″ and 130 pounds and he’s 6’8″ and near 300 pounds dry.

Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in.

Your loving daughter,

Alice G