Daniel Daly, Marine Who Earned Two Medals of Honor in China and WWI

Nov 06 , 2025

Daniel Daly, Marine Who Earned Two Medals of Honor in China and WWI

Sgt. Maj. Daniel Joseph Daly stood alone between death and chaos, bullets tearing the air around him. The enemy pressed hard. The fighting was savage—close, brutal, relentless. But Daly held the ground. Twice he earned the Medal of Honor—twice a testament to a warrior who refused to yield.

The Blood That Shapes a Marine

Born in Glen Cove, New York, 1873, Daniel Daly was forged by grit and hard truth. A dockworker turned Marine, he knew hardship early. The rough edges of life carved a man with a code: stand firm, protect your brothers, and never surrender.

Faith was more than words to Daly. Scripture guided his hands in battle, his heart in the dark. Through storms and carnage, he carried Psalm 23 with him—the Lord, his shepherd, his shield.

His scars ran deeper than skin. They etched into the soul of a man who understood sacrifice meant everything.

The Boxer Rebellion: Defying Fate on a Burning Street

Summer 1900, Peking. Foreign legations under siege by the Boxer uprising. Daly’s unit was trapped, supplies dwindling, death in every shadow.

On June 20, in the heart of the fight, Daly and a small band faced a wall of enemies trying to scale their defense. With a rifle in one hand and fierce resolve in the other, Daly charged, breaking enemy lines again and again.

It was raw courage under fire—fearless and deliberate. He held the gates open for trapped comrades, wielding fury like a force of nature. His Medal of Honor citation reads:

“For distinguished conduct in the presence of the enemy in the battle of Peking, China, 20 June to 16 July 1900.”[^1]

The Marines survived because Daly refused to break.

World War I: Valor Etched in Mud and Fire

More than a decade later, the crucible returned. WWI—Verdun sector, October 1918. Daly, now a seasoned sergeant major, ingrained with decades of battle. The roar of artillery, the stink of mustard gas, the hell of trench warfare.

At Belleau Wood and then at Blanc Mont Ridge, Daly led Marines into maelstroms that shredded men and spirits. Amid a Confederate counterattack, with forces crumbling, Daly seized a fallen officer’s pistol. Alone among wreckage and dead, he rallied the broken, firing from the hip, inspiring them to hold the line.

His second Medal of Honor citation commends that fierce leadership and valor:

“For extraordinary heroism… while serving with the 73d Company, 6th Machine Gun Battalion, 4th Marine Brigade.”[^2]

There, in mud and blood, he became the embodiment of Marine resolve.

The Warrior Remembered

Daly’s trophies weren’t fancy; they were raw, earned in blood and honor. Two Medals of Honor, the Navy Cross, and countless tales etched in Marine Corps lore.

General Smedley Butler, a fellow Medal of Honor recipient, once said of Daly:

“Daly was the fighting Marine. He was the kind of man every man wants in a fight.”

No blooming speeches or grandstanding. Just unvarnished grit and a steady hand under the worst of weather.

Sgt. Maj. Daniel J. Daly was a symbol—not just of skill, but of something deeper: faith, brotherhood, and sacrifice etched in iron and fire.

Lessons from a Warrior’s Path

Daly’s story is carved into the bones of Marine history. But it’s more than history—it is a mirror. Courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s the grind to stand your ground when everything screams to fall back.

Sacrifice is never clean. It is brutal, merciless, and demands everything.

Yet, there is redemption in that grind. In the darkest hours, amid chaos and death, the warrior lifts his eyes:

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” —Psalm 23:4

Daly’s legacy whispers through every combat veteran’s soul. It demands we remember—not just the medals, but the blood, the raw humanity behind each act.

For those of us who fight, and those who watch from home, remember: courage lives in redemptive sacrifice. It carries forward through scars and stories, a beacon of what it means to be truly brave.

He stands still—a sentinel in history’s dark nights—a reminder that valor is forged in the fire of impossible moments, and that the greatest battles are not just won with weapons, but with heart and faith.

[^1]: U.S. Marine Corps History Division, Medal of Honor Recipients: China Relief Expedition (Boxer Rebellion) [^2]: U.S. Marine Corps History Division, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War I