Daniel Daly, Marine Who Earned Two Medals of Honor

Jan 21 , 2026

Daniel Daly, Marine Who Earned Two Medals of Honor

The roar of gunfire swallowed the night.

Men fell like rain before him. Yet Sgt. Maj. Daniel Joseph Daly stood fast—alone, fearless, relentless. His rifle cracked open the chaos. The enemy closed; he charged back. There was no quitting. No surrender.

The Forge of Honor

Born 1873 in Glen Cove, New York, Daniel Daly was never one for fancy words or soft comforts. He found his faith in the grind—both spiritual and brutal. A devout Catholic, his sense of right and wrong molded by hard work and prayer. The streets of New York made him tough; the Marines made him steel.

From the jump, Daly’s code was etched in scripture and sweat. “Greater love hath no man than this,” he once referenced—though not with showy piety, but a quiet conviction born on dusty battlefields. The grit of the Corps and his unwavering faith forged a warrior who walked forward when others pulled back.

The Battle That Defined Him

Boxer Rebellion, 1900. Enemy tribesmen swarmed the foreign legations under siege in Peking. The 1st Regiment Marines were outnumbered and outgunned. Daly took up position on a battered wall, rallying his men. When the chaos crescendoed, he did something that would etch his name into Marine Corps legend.

Single-handed, Daly ran across open ground charging a line of attackers with only his rifle and galvanized guts. Twice during the siege, his daring saved his comrades and the mission, actions later recognized with the Medal of Honor.

Decades later, the nightmare of World War I descended over Europe—a new hell of trench warfare and ceaseless artillery. Daly, then a seasoned veteran, found himself in the muddy no-man’s-land of France. October 26, 1918: his platoon pinned down by relentless machine gun fire near Blanc Mont Ridge.

Without hesitation, Sgt. Maj. Daly launched a solo attack against a German machine gun nest, tossing grenades and charging forward under a hailstorm of bullets. He disrupted the enemy’s line long enough for his men to advance and hold the position. For this striking display of courage, he earned his second Medal of Honor—a distinction held by only one other Marine in history.

Recognition in Blood and Bronze

Two Medals of Honor—the highest combat honor in the United States. Daly’s citations echo valor that words struggle to capture: “fearless and aggressive in attacking a superior force under heavy fire.”

General Smedley Butler, twice a Medal of Honor recipient himself, declared Daly one of the greatest Marines ever to wear the uniform. “No man ever did more for the Corps,” Butler said—words heavy with respect from a man who knew combat and character.

Daly never sought glory. He carried scars, old wounds, and the weight of brotherhood. His battlefield journal, if written, would tell not of medals but of men—brothers who fell beside him, their sacrifice fueling his relentless charge forward.

Legacy Written in Valor and Redemption

Sgt. Maj. Daniel Daly leaves behind more than medals; he leaves fire in the veins of those who fight. His story is a testament to relentless courage rooted in faith and profound duty.

“I’ve been a sinner all my days,” Daly reportedly said late in life. Yet his sins pale beside his sacrifices—fought over trenches, blood-soaked fields, and final stands.

“Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” — Joshua 1:9

In the grime and guts of combat, Daly found redemption. His legacy—unfiltered and raw—reminds veterans: scars bear witness to survival, grace is found in endurance, and true valor serves something higher than self.

He was not just a Marine. He was a warrior etched in redemption’s fire, a beacon for those who carry the cost of freedom on their shoulders.

Sources

1. Marine Corps History Division, Medal of Honor Recipients: Interim List 2. Frank N. Schubert, The Marine Corps in the Boxer Rebellion (Historical Branch, G-3 Division) 3. Charles M. Johnson, The History of the U.S. Marines in World War I (Marine Corps Gazette Archives) 4. Smedley Butler, quoted in The Fighting Marines (Marine Corps Association)