Claude Dunn was born on September 8, 1959, at the U.S. Naval Hospital at Quonset Point, Rhode Island. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve on February 17, 1978, and began active duty on November 7, 1978. After completing basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in January 1979, he attended Medium Helicopter Repair training at Fort Eustis, Virginia, from January to May 1979. His first assignment was with the 213th Aviation Company in South Korea from May 1979 to May 1980, followed by service as a CH-47 Chinook crew chief and flight engineer with Company A, 159th Aviation Battalion, 101st Aviation Group of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, from May 1980 to October 1981. He and his unit were then absorbed into the newly formed 160th Aviation Battalion, the Night Stalkers, and he served with the unit from October 1981 until he was killed in the crash of an MH-47 in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Henry, Virginia, on March 20, 1983. Claude Dunn was buried at Cenizo Hill Cemetery in Mathis, Texas.

Soldier's Creed:

I am an American Soldier.

I am a warrior and a member of a team.

I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values.

I will always place the mission first.

I will never accept defeat.

I will never quit.

I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.

I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.

I am an expert and I am a professional.

I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.

I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.

I am an American Soldier.