Cpl. Jason Dunham's 'Gift of Valor'

NPR

Published May 27, 2005 at 12:00 AM EDT

One day in April 2004, Cpl. Jason Dunham and his men were patrolling an insurgent stronghold near the Syrian border when an Iraqi leapt out and grabbed the 22-year-old Marine around the neck. Dunham, seeing his attacker had dropped a live grenade, snatched off his helmet and put it over the explosive.

The helmet did help blunt the explosion — and saved the lives of others. But Dunham suffered serious injuries from flying shrapnel. Eight days later, he died from his wounds. His actions earned him a Medal of Honor nomination.

In a new book, Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Phillips chronicles the incident, and the effort to save Dunham's life. Michele Norris talks to Phillips about Dunham's story.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

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