https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Grondahl-Soldier-s-heroic-death-inspires-12987236.php
Grondahl: Soldier's heroic death inspires Schenectady students and their teacher
Published 10:32 am, Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Schenectady
Steve Balogh's students at Mont Pleasant Middle School are hungry for heroes.
Many come from difficult backgrounds and struggle with poverty and parents who are absent, incarcerated or have substance abuse issues.
That is why Balogh, an 8th grade history teacher, introduced his students to Jason Dunham, an American hero.
Dunham was a blue-collar kid who grew up in a small town in Allegany County, near the Pennsylvania border. He loved to play baseball and basketball. He was quiet and led by example. When he noticed a girl in high school was being bullied, he went out of his way to sit beside her on the school bus as a silent rebuke to her tormentors.
After graduating from tiny Scio High School in 2000, he wanted to serve his country and joined the Marines. His dream was to become a New York state trooper after military service. He was deployed to Iraq, where Cpl. Dunham became a squad leader with the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines. On April 14, 2004, while on patrol in Karabilah, near the Syrian border, an insurgent jumped from a Toyota Land Cruiser and attacked Dunham. As they wrestled on the ground, the attacker dropped a live grenade. Without hesitation, Dunham leapt on top of it and covered the grenade with his Kevlar helmet and his body. He absorbed the full impact of the blast and saved the lives of at least two other Marines. Gravely wounded, Dunham was evacuated and later transferred to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Md. With his parents at his bedside, he died eight days later, on April 22, 2004. He was 22.
President George W. Bush posthumously awarded Dunham the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award, and presented it to his mother and father at the White House in 2007.
In 2009, Balogh's brother, Peter, died at 41 of colon cancer and within a few months he also lost a classmate from Columbia High School in East Greenbush to a brain tumor. Still mourning their deaths, he came across a photo of Dunham's mother christening the USS Jason Dunham by smashing a champagne bottle against the hull of the guided missile destroyer. He became intrigued and did some research. He found a book about Dunham, "The Gift of Valor," written by Wall Street Journal reporter Michael M. Phillips, who covered the Marines during four tours in Iraq.
Balogh, 54, an Air Force veteran, began telling the story of Dunham's selfless act of valor to his students. "It's an important message about how one person can make a difference," he said. His students read "The Gift of Valor" and wrote letters to Dunham's parents.
"Reading his book made me cry," one student wrote. "Thank you Jason for what you did for America."
"A hero thinks of others before he thinks of himself," another student wrote.
In February, Balogh visited Dunham's parents in Scio. In March, Dan and Deb Dunham drove nearly five hours through a snowstorm to Schenectady to meet Balogh's students in his classroom, which includes a portrait of their son flanked by an American flag that Balogh's brother, Tom, an Amy helicopter crew chief, flew on missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"We're grateful to Steve for keeping Jason's memory alive," his mother said by phone. "We told the kids Jason was a lot like them. He just followed his heart and did the right thing."
"We'll continue to do more school visits if it makes an impact and changes the world for the better," his father said.
"He was a really brave man and he inspired me," said 8th grader Angely Basdeosingh, who hopes to join the Army.
"Reading the book changed my mind about what a hero is," said 8th grader Talhia Persaud.
"His story is really moving and it makes me want to share my love and talent with the world," said 8th grader Lydia Ragubir.
Balogh makes no apologies to his students when he becomes emotional and has to wipe away tears while recounting how Jason Dunham made the ultimate sacrifice for his fellow Marines.
Students dedicated the 2018 Mont Pleasant Middle School yearbook to Cpl. Jason Dunham and included several photos of the fallen Marine.
On Sunday, Balogh met Dunham's parents at their son's gravesite. It had rained most of the day, but the skies cleared briefly when Balogh presented Deb and Dan Dunham with a copy of the yearbook dedicated to their son.
"Letting me share your story with my students has been so rewarding," Balogh wrote in an inscription. "They've learned so much about heroism, bravery, dedication and honor."
"It was very touching to receive the yearbook," his mother said. "It took my breath away."
Paul Grondahl is director of the New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany and a former Times Union reporter. He can be reached at grondahlpaul@gmail.com.
