The gift of valor book report
1. Title: The Gift Of Valor
2. LCpl Olson, Zachary, M.
3. Author: Phillips, Michael, M.
4. Publisher: Broadway Books
5. Published: The Gift of Valor is the story of an ordinary young American, Marine Corporal Jason Dunham, who was mortally, wounded shielding his fellow Marines from a grenade. Dunham grew up in a working-class family in a small town in upstate New York. An indifferent student but an outstanding athlete, Dunham joined the Marine Corps right out of high school. The Marines fit him well, and he rose to the rank of Corporal by the time his unit -- 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment -- was alerted for deployment to Iraq in late 2003. Jason quietly extended his enlistment so that he could remain with the unit throughout its deployment. Jason's unit (Kilo Co. 3/7) was stationed in the Sunni-dominated town of Husaybah near the Syrian border. On April 14, 2004, elements of Kilo Co. were targeted in three separate attacks, and nine Marines were wounded. A patrol led by Corporal Dunham was one of the elements attacked. When Dunham and two other Marines approached a suspicious Land Cruiser, an Iraqi jumped out and attacked the corporal. As the Marines struggled with the aggressor, Dunham suddenly shouted a warning and fell on a grenade. All three Marines were wounded and evacuated, but only Dunham's wounds were life-threatening. When Dunham's superiors discovered exactly what had happened that day, they recommended him for the Medal of Honor. Dunham was evacuated to a naval field hospital where he was classified as "expectant" -- not expected to survive -- because of the severity of his head wounds. When he did, he became "The Miracle Marine" and was moved to the Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad where neurosurgeons operated. From there, he was flown to Germany and later to the Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md. The specialists at Bethesda, however, concluded that Jason had suffered too much brain damage to ever recover, and his parents accepted their
2. LCpl Olson, Zachary, M.
3. Author: Phillips, Michael, M.
4. Publisher: Broadway Books
5. Published: The Gift of Valor is the story of an ordinary young American, Marine Corporal Jason Dunham, who was mortally, wounded shielding his fellow Marines from a grenade. Dunham grew up in a working-class family in a small town in upstate New York. An indifferent student but an outstanding athlete, Dunham joined the Marine Corps right out of high school. The Marines fit him well, and he rose to the rank of Corporal by the time his unit -- 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment -- was alerted for deployment to Iraq in late 2003. Jason quietly extended his enlistment so that he could remain with the unit throughout its deployment. Jason's unit (Kilo Co. 3/7) was stationed in the Sunni-dominated town of Husaybah near the Syrian border. On April 14, 2004, elements of Kilo Co. were targeted in three separate attacks, and nine Marines were wounded. A patrol led by Corporal Dunham was one of the elements attacked. When Dunham and two other Marines approached a suspicious Land Cruiser, an Iraqi jumped out and attacked the corporal. As the Marines struggled with the aggressor, Dunham suddenly shouted a warning and fell on a grenade. All three Marines were wounded and evacuated, but only Dunham's wounds were life-threatening. When Dunham's superiors discovered exactly what had happened that day, they recommended him for the Medal of Honor. Dunham was evacuated to a naval field hospital where he was classified as "expectant" -- not expected to survive -- because of the severity of his head wounds. When he did, he became "The Miracle Marine" and was moved to the Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad where neurosurgeons operated. From there, he was flown to Germany and later to the Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md. The specialists at Bethesda, however, concluded that Jason had suffered too much brain damage to ever recover, and his parents accepted their