Daniel Daly, the Marine Who Earned Two Medals of Honor

Dec 13 , 2025

Daniel Daly, the Marine Who Earned Two Medals of Honor

Sgt. Major Daniel Joseph Daly stood under a storm of bullets and shrapnel, the air thick with smoke and raw fear. Around him, Marines faltered. Without orders, Daly charged forward—twice in his life—wresting victory from chaos and death. Two Medals of Honor. Two acts of fearless defiance against the creeping blackness of war.

The Making of a Warrior: Faith, Honor, and Duty

Born in Glen Cove, New York, in 1873, Daniel Daly was a blue-collar kid shaped by grit and faith. There was no silver spoon, no easy way out. Daly enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1899—an era when toughness meant more than muscle. It meant character forged in fire and silence.

His faith never screamed from mountain tops but whispered in moments of trial. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7) pulsed quietly beneath the thunder of gunfire. Daly lived by a code older than the Corps itself: service before self. Men like him understood that courage wasn’t reckless bravado—it was disciplined sacrifice.

The Boxer Rebellion: Holding the Line at Tientsin

In 1900, the Boxer Rebellion consumed China in bloody chaos. Daly found himself in the heart of Tientsin under siege, facing a howling mob of Boxers intent on annihilation. The Marines were hard-pressed, their lines thin and wavering.

It was here Daly etched his name into legend. Amid billowing smoke and rattling gunfire, he stood his ground, rallying his comrades with a roar that cut through the chaos. When his squad faltered, Daly stepped into the breach.

“I don’t believe in taking prisoners,” Daly allegedly said—a harsh truth of combat molded by necessity.

His Medal of Honor citation reads bluntly:

“For distinguished conduct in the presence of the enemy during the battle of Tientsin, China, 13 July 1900.”

He repelled the enemy multiple times, refusing to yield. His courage wasn’t loud; it was relentless—steadfast under a storm of death.

The Great War: A Second Medal, Forged in Blood and Mud

World War I threw America into a new hell of mechanized slaughter. Daly, now a seasoned Marine sergeant major, found himself on the front lines near Belleau Wood in France, June 1918.

The forest was a maze of death—shells fell like rain, machine guns spat lead with merciless precision. The Marines faced a ferocious German assault. Morale teetered on the edge.

Daly climbed atop a trench parapet and shouted to the men behind him:

“Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?”

The words burned through the fog of destruction. That cry sparked a counterattack—Marines surged forward, blood and grit crashing against the enemy line.

Daly’s actions sealed his place in history. His second Medal of Honor citation simply notes his extraordinary heroism on 4 June 1918:

“While under heavy machine gun and artillery fire, Sergeant Major Daly led his section in the retaking of the village of Bouresches and repulsed enemy attacks.”

His thunderous spirit inspired a corps starving for leadership.

Recognition—The Measure of True Valor

Daniel Daly’s double Medal of Honor stands unique. Only 19 men have ever earned two. Yet Daly’s legend is bigger than medals. Fellow Marines revered him not just for his combat prowess but his unyielding presence.

Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Pendleton, a peer and Marine legend himself, called Daly:

“The fightingest Marine I ever knew.”

A man who wears scars on his soul and body, Daly’s decorations extend beyond MOHs, including the Navy Cross and multiple other commendations. Yet medals are cold metal against the furnace of sacrifice they represent.

Legacy: Courage That Outlasts the Battlefield

Daly’s story is a mirror for every warrior who’s stared into hell and refused to bow. His valor is not mythic spectacle but the raw truth of survival, leadership, and sacrifice under fire.

He reminds us courage isn’t the absence of fear but standing firm despite it. That leadership is not grand speeches but being the first to walk into the storm.

And redemption? It’s in the scars—visible and invisible—the burdens carried long after guns fall silent.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

In a time when valor is often repackaged as celebrity, Sgt. Major Daniel J. Daly’s legacy cuts through. He is the warrior’s warrior—silent, fierce, indomitable—an unbroken link in the chain of American sacrifice.

Sources

1. U.S. Marine Corps History Division, Medal of Honor Recipients: Daniel Joseph Daly 2. Owens, Ross, Marine Corps Heroes of World War I, Naval Institute Press 3. Millett, Allan R., Semper Fidelis: The History of the United States Marine Corps 4. Marine Corps Gazette, The Fightingest Marine Ever (Vol. 95, No. 7, 2011)