Photo By Sgt. Jonathan Gonzalez | Maj. Gen. Michael F. Fahey, Commanding General, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces...... read more read more
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BUSHNELL, Fla. -- The reverberating sounds of Marines in their blue dress uniforms firing a three-rifle volley followed by the solemn melody of a lone bugler playing Taps signified to any onlookers the nation was saying goodbye to a hero. Marines, family, friends and the community remembered U.S. Marine Corps and Medal of Honor recipient, Cpl. Duane E. Dewey and his spouse Bertha, Nov. 16, 2021, in Bushnell, Fla. Dewey was born in Grand Rapids, Mich., Nov. 16, 1931, and died Oct. 11, 2021. He enlisted into the Marine Corps Reserve when he was 19 years old. He later earned the Medal of Honor for his sacrificial actions during the Korean War, April 16, 1952.
“The medal didn’t define him, he defined what that medal stood for,” said Lenny Schmit, Dewey’s grandson. “He didn’t think he was supposed to go above and beyond the call of duty. He thought he was doing what he was supposed to be doing.”
Dewey earned the Medal of Honor while deployed near Panmunjom, Korea with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. He covered a grenade with his own body, saving his fellow Marines and Corpsmen during the Korean War. His sacrifice led to serious injuries including multiple shrapnel wounds throughout the lower part of his body.
“There is nothing more heroic and generous than to lay your life on the line for your friends and comrades,” said Schmit. “He had four seconds to decide ‘I’m going to scoop this grenade under me, because if I don’t my friends are going to die.’”
When presenting the Medal of Honor to Cpl. Dewey, March 12, 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower remarked, “You must have a body of steel.”
Enlisting in the Marine Corps Reserve, March 7, 1951, he completed recruit training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C., and underwent intensive combat training at Camp Pendleton, Calif., until embarking for Korea in September 1951.
After receiving the Medal of Honor, Cpl. Dewey went on to live a prevailing and humble life by helping out not only the military community, but also the community around him. He ran a repair shop and drove a school bus for several years, while regularly giving inspirational speeches about his early life and time in the Marine Corps at local recruiting stations.
Military support to the memorial were presented by 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, with a long ranger flyover, chaplain services, rifle salute and the color guard all provided by 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion, 4th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company and Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162.
On behalf of a grateful nation, Dewey's family received a folded American Flag from Maj. Gen. Michael F. Fahey III, Commanding General, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve.
"He loved the Marine Corps, the Marine Corps was his life," said Schmit. "Everything centered around it, God, country, Corps."
| Date Taken: | 11.16.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 11.23.2021 12:19 |
| Story ID: | 409900 |
| Location: | BUSHNELL, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 221 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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