USS Jason Dunham. (Photo by Jayna Smith)

The Hero Behind the USS Jason Dunham

 

By Jayna Smith

One of the highlights of the Eastport’s Fourth of July festivities is the Navy ship that arrives just in time for the celebration, a time-honored Eastport tradition dating back to 1905. This year there almost wasn’t a ship, but some last-minute finagling led to the timely arrival of the USS Jason Dunham, an Arleigh Burke-class missile destroyer in the United States Navy.

The ship is named after U.S. Marine Corps Corporal Jason Dunham, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for service in the Iraq War. It is the 59th destroyer in her class and built by Bath Iron Works in Maine and was commissioned in 2010. Its homeport is Norfolk, Virginia.

Cpl. Dunham, a 22-year-old machine gunner from Scio, New York, was manning a checkpoint near Karabilah on April 14, 2004, when an Iraqi dropped a grenade with the pin removed. Dunham quickly jumped on it, using his Kevlar helmet and body to smother the blast to shield comrades. He died eight days later on April 22, 2004 as a result of his injuries. 

Cpl. Dunham was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. The Medal of Honor — the nation’s highest award for battlefield heroism — bestowed on him was the first one for a Marine in the Iraq war and the first earned for combat action since 1970 during the Vietnam War.

In the last 30 years, there have only been five years a ship was not docked in Eastport for its Independence Day celebration, the largest in the state. Three times no ship was available, and for two years, in 2015 and 2016, the breakwater was being reconstructed. 

This year was almost the sixth time in the last 30 years Eastport did not see a ship at port during its Fourth of July. Scheduled to arrive on Tuesday, July 2nd was the USS Stout. Due to operational changes, and to the disappointment of many, that ship’s visit was cancelled just the Friday prior. 

With only days to make it happen, Senator Susan Collins, a frequent visitor to Eastport for its Grand Parade, worked with the Secretary of the Navy to arrange a replacement ship. On Wednesday afternoon, July 3rd, the USS Jason Dunham was very much welcomed in Eastport.

Learn more about Cpl. Dunham at www.jasondunham.org. 

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