Duane E. Dewey was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of the Korean War who was awarded the Medal of Honor.
- Died: October 11, 2021 (Who else died on October 11?)
- Details of death: Died at a nursing home in St. Augustine, Florida at the age of 89.
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“Body of steel”
Dewey enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1951. A year later, he earned his Medal of Honor, the highest decoration for valor, while serving near Panmunjom as the leader of a machine gun squad. Dewey was being treated for injuries sustained when a grenade exploded near his foot, when another grenade landed next to him. He threw himself on the grenade to protect the members of his squad. Dewey was severely injured but survived the large shrapnel wounds inflicted by the grenade as well as a bullet to his stomach. He was presented with the Medal of Honor by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. The president remarked on his unlikely survival, “You must have a body of steel.” In later years, Dewey ran an office machine repair shop as well as driving a bus and working at a piano factory.
Dewey’s words as he leapt onto the grenade
“Hit the dirt, Doc, I’ve got it in my hip pocket.” —as remembered in a 2011 interview for the book “Medal of Honor”
Tributes to Duane E. Dewey
Full obituary: The Washington Post
