WASHINGTON — A young Marine from upstate New York who fell on a grenade in Iraq to save his comrades was honored yesterday in a solemn ceremony at the White House, where President Bush presented his parents with the prestigious Medal of Honor.

Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham of Scio, N.Y., saved at least two lives by acting quickly during a struggle with an insurgent near the Syrian border.

“On a dusty road in western Iraq, Corporal Dunham gave his own life so that the men under his command might live,” the president said. “This morning it’s my privilege to recognize Corporal Dunham’s devotion to the Corps and country.”

The presentation was made in the East Room of the White House before a packed crowd that included Dunham’s family and dozens of his fellow Marines in their dress uniforms.

Dunham’s father and mother said after the ceremony that the honor should be shared with their son’s fellow Marines.

“They’re all courageous. It’s as much theirs as it is Jason’s,” said Dan Dunham.

“I’ve lost my son but he became a part of history,” said Dunham’s mother, Deb. “It still hurts as a parent, but the pride that you have from knowing he did the right thing makes it easier.”

She said Jason’s “second family,” the Marine Corps, had done everything that could be asked, but acknowledged they still do not have what they all want most.

“I wanted him here, and I didn’t have him,” said Ms. Dunham.

Jason Dunham grew up a popular athlete in the small town of Scio in Alleghany County, where his mother, a home economics teacher, helped teach him spelling by using different words in the basketball game of “horse.”

In April 2004, Dunham, 22, received a report that a Marine convoy had been ambushed, according to a Marine Corps account. Dunham led his men to the site near Husaybah, halting a convoy of departing cars. An insurgent in one of the vehicles grabbed him by the throat when he went to search the car and the two fought.

A grenade was dropped, and Dunham covered the explosive with his Kevlar helmet, which, along with his chest armor plate, absorbed some of the blast.

He lived long enough to be transferred to a Bethesda, Md., hospital, where he died with his parents beside him.

Thursday’s ceremony was attended by Rep. Randy Kuhl, R-Hammondsport, and several American senators, including John McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war.

Mr. McCain said the ceremony was a reminder of the “terribly heartbreaking” sacrifices made by everyday Americans in war.

The Dunhams were to meet later in the day with New York senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton, who had pressed for Dunham to be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Dunham is the second member of the military to receive the Medal of Honor for service in the Iraq war.