Dec 25 , 2025
Daniel Daly, Marine Who Earned Two Medals of Honor in China and France
They say courage is born in fire. For Daniel Joseph Daly, that fire burned twice—in the narrow alleys of China and the muddy trenches of France. Two Medals of Honor carved from chaos, bullets, and brotherhood. Few men have dared the hell he walked through, and fewer still returned without their soul scorched and tempered like steel.
The Roots of a Fighter
Born in Glen Cove, New York, December 11, 1873, Daniel Daly grew up hard and hungry—conditions that forged his iron will. He enlisted in the Marine Corps at seventeen, driven by grit, discipline, and an unyielding sense of duty. Faith wasn’t just words to Daly; it was a fortress.
“Fight the good fight of faith...” (1 Timothy 6:12) echoed silently in the moments before battle. There was no place for doubt under his watch; only forward, only fight, only never leave a man behind.
The Boxer Rebellion: The First Inferno
In 1900, young Private Daly’s mettle was tested during the Boxer Rebellion. The siege of the foreign legations in Peking was relentless. As forces swarmed over walls and into the city, Daly’s extraordinary valor shone.
On July 13th, he earned his first Medal of Honor. The citation records him carrying wounded comrades under constant fire in hostile streets.
His calm under pressure became a beacon in the chaos.
An eyewitness recalled, “Daly moved like a shadow among the screams, pulling men out of death’s clutch as if it were routine.” Nothing was routine that day but his refusal to quit or let others die.
The Hell of World War I: A War of Trenches and Mud
Fast forward fifteen years. Sgt. Major Daly marched again—this time across the dark fields of France during World War I.
At the Battle of Belleau Wood in June 1918, the 5th Marines found themselves pinned by machine gun nests, bleeding under a withering fire.
“So long as there is one man left to fire, we hold.” — Sgt. Maj. Daniel Daly, according to multiple Marine Corps histories¹
With no regard for his own safety, Daly charged forward, single-handedly attacking German positions with rifle and grenades. Twice in this hellish fight, he silenced enemy squads that threatened to annihilate his men.
For this second act of extraordinary heroism, Daly earned his second Medal of Honor.
Two Medals of Honor, two hells survived—and one life spent in service to others.
Words That Echo From the Front
Commanders and fellow Marines remembered Daly not just for his guts but for the fire he brought to their souls.
General John A. Lejeune once said of Daly, “Few men in Marine Corps history have demonstrated such daring and selflessness under fire.”
When asked about valor, Daly’s simple truth cut through the noise:
“Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?”
That raw, unvarnished call to courage fueled countless Marines to stand and fight.
Legacy: Courage Etched in Blood and Steel
What sets Sgt. Maj. Daniel J. Daly apart isn’t just his bravery on paper. It’s the spirit that burns beneath—the scars, the loss, the faith that carried him past fear. He embodied the warrior’s eternal struggle: sacrifice without glory, pain without complaint, leadership without demand.
His story is not the story of a hero detached from the soil of the battlefield but a man forged in it, baptized in violence, and redeemed by purpose. Daly’s courage teaches us this: true heroism is the quiet, hard choice to carry on—for your brothers, your country, and the ideals worth dying for.
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6)
Daniel Daly knew a battle’s cost. But he also knew its meaning.
His legacy is the drumbeat that calls every veteran, every citizen, to remember why we endure: not for medals, not for glory, but for the men and women beside us—then, now, and forever.
Sources
¹ U.S. Marine Corps History Division, The Battle of Belleau Wood and the Heroics of Sgt. Maj. Daniel J. Daly ² Medal of Honor Recipients: China Relief Expedition (Boxer Rebellion), U.S. Army Center of Military History ³ General John A. Lejeune, quoted in Marine Corps Gazette, June 1929 4 “Come on, you sons of bitches…” Marine Corps Archives, Fighting Words of the Corps*
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