Sergeant Claude J. Dunn was born on 6 September 1959 in the U.S. Naval Hospital at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, the second son of a career Sailor. He attended schools in California, North Carolina, Florida, Nebraska, and Washington before graduating from high school in Mathis, Texas. During the summer months, he worked in the cotton fields as a tractor driver. While in high school, SGT Dunn volunteered for service in the U.S. Army and reported for active duty in September 1979.

SGT Dunn attended various Army schools and served in San Antonio, Texas, prior to coming to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He served as a Chinook Crew Chief and is remembered as one of the Company's best, which is illustrated by the fact that he was crewing one of the Company's precious "triple hooks." He was very proud of being a member of Task Force 160.

SGT Dunn was a member of Alpha Company, 159th Aviation Battalion and was conducting overwater training operations when his CH-47 Chinook, #527, crashed in the Atlantic Ocean just east of Cape Henry, Virginia, on 20 March 1983.

SGT Dunn is survived by his mother, Nancy, one brother, and two sisters. He is laid to rest in Mathis, Texas, at Cenzio Hill Cemetery.