On Friday, May 24th, those attending the NC Education Lottery 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series might have noticed something special about the truck that Kaden Honeycutt of Niece Motorsports was driving. They might have noticed CPL JASON DUNHAM written on the top of the passenger door of the truck and wondered who exactly Cpl. Jason Dunham is.
Jason Dunham was born on November 10, 1981, in Scio, New York, to parents, Dan and Deb, and resided there with his three siblings until he graduated from high school in 2000. That same year, Dunham joined the United States Marine Corps and graduated from recruit training at Parris Island on October 27th. Following his first duty assignment in Kings Bay, Georgia, with the Marine Corps Security Forces, he transferred to the infantry and was eventually assigned to Company K, 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, based in Twentynine Palms, California. He was deployed with this unit to Iraq in 2004.
On April 14th, 2004, Dunham was participating in a reconnaissance mission as a Rifle Squad Leader for 4th Platoon, Company K, 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, in Karabilah, Iraq, when the platoon heard gunfire a short distance away following the ambush of a Marine convoy. Dunham ordered his squad towards the fighting, and the team soon were receiving enemy fire. Leaving their vehicles behind, the team proceeded on foot and quickly discovered several Iraqi vehicles attempting to depart the area. Dunham and his team stopped the vehicles and began approaching them to conduct a weapons search. At this time, an insurgent leaped from a vehicle and attacked Dunham. Wrestling the insurgent to the ground, Dunham noticed that the insurgent had released a grenade during the struggle. Dunham quickly shouted a warning to his fellow Marines before covering the grenade with his helmet and body, bearing the brunt of the explosion himself and saving the lives of his fellow Marines. Cpl. Jason Dunham died of his wounds eight days later, on April 22, 2004, at the age of 22, surrounded by his family at Bethesda Naval Hospital.
A little over three years later, Cpl. Jason Dunham was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, which was presented to Dunham’s family by President George W. Bush in a ceremony at the White House on January 11th, 2007.
Since his passing, the legacy of Dunham and his actions on April 14th, 2004, have lived on through his family, the work of organizations like the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, and the tributes that have been made in his honor by those who knew him or have learned of him since his passing. These tributes include the work that RDC Shoe Company, Niece Motorsports, and Kaden Honeycutt have done to honor Dunham.
RDC Shoe Company has supported the Congressional Medal of Honor Society through its Glory Shoe Program since 2021. The program provides CMOHS with a donation for every shoe purchase, and each purchase includes a Medal of Honor Recipient information card. Not only does the company support CMOHS through this program, but it has also carried its support of the Medal of Honor Recipients into other projects, including its partnership with Niece Motorsports and driver Kaden Honeycutt.
On May 24th, 2024, Niece Motorsports, along with RDC Shoe Company, unveiled the truck that Kaden Honeycutt would drive during that day’s NC Education Lottery 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Featuring CPL JASON DUNHAM on the passenger door along with the Society logo on the truck bed, the truck is a tribute to not only Jason Dunham but all those who have served our country. And to make this moment even more powerful, Dunham’s parents, Dan and Deb, were on-site to watch Honeycutt drive the truck in honor of their son.
We are so incredibly thankful to RDC Shoe Company, Niece Motorsports, and Kaden Honeycutt for their continued support of the Dunham family, CMOHS, and our mission to perpetuate the legacy of the Medal of Honor and its Recipients, including Jason Dunham.
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About the Congressional Medal of Honor Society
The Congressional Medal of Honor Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Medal of Honor (the United States’ highest award for military valor in action) and its Recipients, inspiring Americans to live the values the Medal represents, and supporting Recipients as they connect with communities across America. Chartered by Congress in 1958, the Society’s membership consists exclusively of those individuals who have received the Medal of Honor.
The Society carries out its mission through outreach, education, and preservation programs, including the Medal of Honor Character Development Program, Citizen Honors Awards, and The Medal of Honor Museum. As part of Public Law 106-83, the Medal of the Honor Memorial Act, The Medal of Honor Museum, which is co-located with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s headquarters on board the U.S.S. Yorktown at Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, was designated as one of three national Medal of Honor sites.
The Society’s programs and operations are fully funded by generous donors.