Daniel Daly, Two-Time Medal of Honor Recipient and Belleau Wood Vetera

Dec 10 , 2025

Daniel Daly, Two-Time Medal of Honor Recipient and Belleau Wood Veteran

Sgt. Maj. Daniel Joseph Daly stood in the maelstrom of fire, bullets slashing the air, his voice cutting above the chaos. “Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?” The legend was born in that defiant roar—raw courage welded into the heart of a warrior who would face death twice and walk away changed but unbroken.

Blood and Faith from Brooklyn to the Battlefield

Daly’s story didn’t start on the front lines. Born in Brooklyn in 1873, he was a humble kid hardened by city grit and the unforgiving streets. A devout Catholic, his faith was the invisible armor he bore into every fight. It was more than belief—it was a code, stitching purpose into every scar.

“There’s a battle you fight inside yourself every day,” Daly once said. Faith wasn’t a shield from fear but a fire to burn through it. This warrior understood that courage without conviction was hollow. His devotion gave him that relentless edge, the spiritual backbone to push a man beyond the brink.

The Boxer Rebellion: Defying Death in Tientsin

In 1900, Daly stood among Marines defending the International Legation in Tientsin during the Boxer Rebellion. The streets ran red with the fury of the Qing rebels, the air thick with smoke and the stench of death. It was here Daly earned his first Medal of Honor.

During a night sortie, Daly rushed into a flooded trench, his rifle a beacon of resolve amid the dark. Enemies surged like tide, but he held ground. His citation reads simply: “Distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in the presence of the enemy.”

Fighting guerrilla fighters in a hostile city, trapped and outnumbered, Daly’s grit shone bright. He refused to retreat, standing as a bulwark for his men. The battle was blood-drenched, brutal—a crucible burning away doubt and fear.

World War I: Courage Under Fire at Belleau Wood

Fourteen years later, the nightmare returned beneath the shattered trees of Belleau Wood, 1918. The French Aisne-Marne Offensive pitched soldiers into a jagged hell of machine-gun nests and barbed wire. Daly, now Sgt. Maj., was the embodiment of fearless leadership.

His second Medal of Honor citation captures the raw grit:

“In the advance against the enemy, Sgt. Maj. Daly, upon reaching a captured trench, rallied his men, maintained the position against repeated counterattacks, and personally delivered effective fire.”

The legend of “Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?” comes from this bloody fight. This was no vanity roar—this was a summons to live, to fight, to survive when hope burned dim.

Pearl Harbor survivor and fellow Marine Col. Chesty Puller called him “one of the toughest Marines I ever met.” And that was no small praise from a legend himself.

Recognition Earned in Blood and Sweat

Daly’s two Medals of Honor place him among an elite few in Marine Corps history. Twice decorated for valor under fire, his name appears in official citations housed in the National Archives. His battlefield tenacity wasn’t just bravery. It was leadership forged in fires where men broke and fled.

His awards came with commendations from peers and commanders who recognized a rare warrior spirit. A man who didn’t waver. Who pushed forward when every instinct screamed to run.

Legacy Written in Scars and Valor

We honor Sgt. Maj. Daniel Daly not for glory but for the raw humanity he represents—the man who looked death in the eye twice and chose to fight anyway. His life is a testament: courage isn’t ignorance of fear but the will to master it.

“Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead…” — Ephesians 5:14

His legacy whispers to every soldier who feels broken, calls every vet swallowed by shadows back to the light. Daly’s story is a call to arms for sacrifice, honor, and faith.

He did not fight for medals or fame—he fought to stand with brothers, to protect the weak, to etch a path through hell where hope might still grow.

In the relentless grind of war, Sgt. Maj. Daniel Daly found redemption not in survival, but in the courage to face death head-on. That is a legacy no enemy bullet can ever take.