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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. - Every Marine knows about the legends; the epic stories about their predecessors in Iwo Jima, Belleau Wood, Chapultepec, and many others. Even recent battles such as Fallujah in Iraq or Marjah in Afghanistan have been cited for their degree of intensity. The stories of Chesty Puller earning five Navy Crosses or Dan Daly and Smedley Butler attaining two Medals of Honors are common yelps of motivation construed by Marines corps-wide. In the modern era, other than Cpl. Jason L. Dunham who received the award posthumously for his actions sacrificing himself to save his Marines in Husaybah, Iraq, in 2004, not many names have surfaced as a modern war hero to Marines, until today, when President Barack Obama praised Dakota Meyer with the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic actions displayed in Afghanistan in 2009.
Sept. 8, 2009, a day that should be marked on all Marines’ calendars, Meyer in the Battle of Gangjal, fought in a six-hour firefight in Kunar province, Afghanistan. He is credited for saving 13 U.S. troops and 23 Afghan soldiers.
President Obama approved Meyer’s award July 19, gaining the attention of the entire Marine Corps, as he is the only living Marine to receive this level of recognition for the campaigns in Iraq or Afghanistan and will add one more name to the list of 297 current Medals of Honor that have been awarded to Marines.
Although the spotlight has tracked Meyer since the words left the presidents mouth, he remains humble and appreciative during the more than 20 interviews he’s endured with news outlets nationwide.
The citation of his Medal of Honor reads: “During a six-hour firefight, Cpl. Meyer single handedly turned the tide of battle, saved 36 Marines and soldiers and recovered the bodies of his fallen brothers. Four separate times he fought the kilometer up into the heart of a deadly U-shaped ambush. During the fight he killed at least eight Taliban, personally evacuated 12 friendly wounded and provided cover for another 24 Marines and soldiers to escape likely death at the hands of a numerically superior and determined foe.”
His citation continued … “Despite being wounded, he made a fourth attack with three others to search for missing team members. Nearly surrounded and under heavy fire he dismounted the vehicle and searched house to house to recover the bodies of his fallen team members. By his extraordinary heroism, presence of mind amidst chaos and death and unselfish devotion to his comrades in the face of great danger, Cpl. Meyer reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.”
Meyer is the first living Marine to receive the award for valor since retired Maj. Gen. James L. Day received the award from former President Bill Clinton in 1998 for his actions as a corporal in Okinawa in 1945.
Only two living recipients, both soldiers, have received the award for actions in Iraq and Afghanistan: Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta and Sgt. 1st Class Leroy A. Petry. Dunham is the only other Marine to receive the medal for current conflicts.
Today marks a day that Meyers’ name should resonate in boot camp squad bays, like a ditty recruits are told to repeat from the drill instructors. Marines like Meyer keep the torch going, adding a story of yet another heroic Marine to the Marine Corps historic past.
| Date Taken: | 09.15.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 09.16.2011 11:05 |
| Story ID: | 77144 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 373 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, President to award MOH to Dakota Meyer, by Sgt Samuel A. Nasso, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
