Daniel Daly’s Two Medals of Honor From Tientsin to Belleau Wood

Nov 03 , 2025

Daniel Daly’s Two Medals of Honor From Tientsin to Belleau Wood

Blood spilled twice over — no enemy left standing behind him. Sgt. Maj. Daniel Joseph Daly was not just a warrior; he was the iron backbone of American grit through the chaos of two brutal wars. The scars on his soul were carved by fire at Tientsin and entrenched in mud and barbed wire on the Western Front.

The Making of a Warrior

Born in Glen Cove, New York, in 1873, Daly enlisted young in the Marine Corps. A blue-collar kid shaped by harsh streets and tougher values. By the end of the 19th century, he already earned a reputation for grit and raw courage.

Faith ran quietly through him—not loud, but unwavering. His sense of right and wrong burned in his blood, guided by something beyond medals and orders. The Marine Corps became his pulpit; the battlefield, his sermon. His personal code? Stand firm. Protect your brothers. Never break.

"I’m just a Marine, and Marines don’t take breaks in the bone yard." — Sgt. Maj. Daniel J. Daly, often quoted by comrades.

The Battle That Defined Him Twice

Boxer Rebellion, 1900. China was a powder keg, and the Siege of the International Legations in Tientsin was hell unrelenting. Amid barrages, Daly and his men faced an enemy flood desperate to break the lines. It was here Daly earned his first Medal of Honor, charging single-handed to spearhead attacks, rallying wounded Marines like a shirtless devil in the smoke.

Fourteen years later, the nightmare mutates but the stakes remain. WWI, Battle of Belleau Wood, 1918.

American doughboys fought for their lives in the Forest of Argonne. Daly, now a seasoned Sergeant Major, stood amid chaos. Machine guns spat death, artillery shredded the trees, and fear hung thick like blood in the mud. When a French machine gun crew faltered, Daly leapt forward alone, grabbed the gun, and silenced it with deadly resolve.

"Fighting with a fury that electrified his men, Sgt. Maj. Daly was, as usual, where the fight was the fiercest." — U.S. Marine Corps War Diaries

The Medal of Honor citation from WWI calls out his “extraordinary heroism in action” under fire. But it’s the quieter parts—his steady voice in the bloodshed—that earned him the real allegiance of his men.

Recognition Written in Blood and Bronze

Only one Marine before him had ever earned two Medals of Honor. Daly joined those ranks not for glory, but to mark sacrifice itself.

“From the Boxer Rebellion to the Great War, Sgt. Maj. Daniel Daly embodied the spirit of the Marine Corps — courageous, relentless, and selfless.” — U.S. Marine Corps official statement

His two Medals are documented, not war stories whispered around smoky barracks. They mark decisive moments in brutal combat, preserved in citations and eyewitness accounts:

- Medal of Honor No. 1: Tenacious defense and attack at Tientsin, China, during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900.¹ - Medal of Honor No. 2: Single-handed assault on a French machine gun nest at Belleau Wood, June 1918.²

Both earned under fire, both acts born of a warrior spirit refusing to yield.

The Warrior’s Legacy

Daly’s story is more than medals and heroism. It's about purpose forged in sacrifice. He believed that courage wasn’t the absence of fear, but the choice to stand in spite of it.

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life... shall be able to separate us from the love of God.” — Romans 8:38 (a whispered comfort in the chaos)

Even after the guns fell silent, Daly carried that fight within. His legacy drills down to the raw truth of combat: valor is tethered to brotherhood, and redemption lies in service bigger than the self. His life reminds us all that the battlefield’s scars shape not just warriors — but enduring hope.

In the end, Sgt. Maj. Daniel Joseph Daly didn’t just fight enemies on distant soil. He wrestled with the weight of what it means to be human—scarred, steadfast, and holding onto faith in redemption through sacrifice.

Courage isn’t a medal pinned on a chest; it’s the soul’s quiet defiance when the world demands surrender.

That’s the lesson he left behind, etched in the mud and fire of history, calling every generation to stand firm—even when it seems there’s no hope left to fight for.

Sources

1. U.S. Marine Corps History Division — Medal of Honor Recipients: Boxer Rebellion. 2. U.S. Marine Corps War Diaries and Citation Records — World War I, Belleau Wood.