Nov 18 , 2025
Daniel Daly's Two Medals of Honor Forged at Peking and Belleau Wood
Blood sizzled beneath the hide of his knuckles. The night air in Peking was thick with smoke and the stench of death. Daniel Joseph Daly, Sergeant Major in the United States Marine Corps, stood alone on the wall—the last line before chaos swallowed his squad. Bullets tore past him. The Boxer rebels surged. But he did not falter. His voice, raw and defiant, cut through the dark: “Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?”
The Roots of a Warrior’s Spirit
Born in Glen Cove, New York, 1873, Daly's childhood forged the iron will he wielded on battlefields half a world away. His Irish immigrant parents instilled a rugged faith—not in fortune or fame, but in grit, sacrifice, and a Higher Power watching over the lonely man on the frontline.
“God gives the battle, but man must fight it,” was a creed Daly carried. It was not spirituality draped in ribbons and sermons, but a sacred code etched in scars and sweat. To him, honor was currency earned only when blood met dirt and men held the line against night’s encroaching terror.
The Battle That Defined Him: Peking, Boxer Rebellion, 1900
The summer of 1900 burned with flames of rebellion as the Boxers—militants opposed to foreign intervention in China—laid siege to the legation quarter in Peking. Marines were tasked to hold the gate, their lives tethered to the survival of innocents trapped inside.
Daly, a corporal then, manned the wall with fierce resolve. Ammunition ran low. The rebels pressed wave after wave against the barricades. Most men faltered under the relentless assault, but not Daly. Witnesses described his stance as unyielding—his Thompson voice rallying his Marines despite the thunderous volley.
His Medal of Honor citation states:
“For extraordinary heroism during the battle of Peking... accompanied by a few Marines, defended against repeated attacks until the danger passed.” [1]
He was the embodiment of that famous challenge—“Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?”—a cry that became legend among Marines, capturing the raw will to survive and fight.
Valor Rekindled: World War I Trenches
Fifteen years later, Daly answered the call amidst the mud and blood of the Great War. Now a Sergeant Major, the highest enlisted rank, he led from the front in the hellscape of Belleau Wood and other brutal campaigns where death was indiscriminate and everywhere.
In the chaos of trench warfare, Daly’s leadership illuminated a path through carnage. He rallied broken squads, checked the wounded, and inspired Marines swallowed by fear and exhaustion. His actions earned him a second Medal of Honor—one of only nineteen men in U.S. history to receive the honor twice.
This citation reflects his indomitable spirit during battle:
“Display of conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.” [2]
His bravery wasn’t just in bold charges but in steadfastness—the quiet grind of leadership when every man’s survival depended on the old warrior’s steady hand.
The Measure of a Marine: Recognition Beyond Medals
Two Medals of Honor; a symbol for valor and leadership writ large. Yet, Daly’s legacy isn’t locked in metal or ceremony. Fellow Marines remembered his courage like a beacon.
Major John A. Lejeune, Commandant of the Marine Corps, called Daly “one of the greatest Marines who ever wore the uniform,” a statement not lightly given by a man surrounded by legends.
Daly’s words echoed beyond the battlefield trenches:
“The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle.”
No poser, no warblers in the ranks—only the relentless truth that fighting and sacrifice are what carve men from boys.
Lessons Burned in Bone and Brass
Daniel Daly’s story pivots on raw, blistered honesty about what combat demands: fear met with courage, despair with duty, and exhaustion with resolve. His example pushes beyond myth to something more primal—the unyielding will to stand, fight, and protect.
His life is a testament to sacrificial leadership under fire. Scarred, battered, yet never broken, Daly carried the weight of many lives and their fragile hopes on his shoulders.
“But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another…” (1 John 1:7)
This was his unseen armor—the faith to endure hell on Earth, knowing redemption awaited beyond. A faith shared silently by countless warriors who carry memories heavier than medals.
Daniel Joseph Daly did not just fight battles. He embodied the unvarnished truth of service—the price paid so others might live. His scream into the night is a challenge still: Have the courage to live free, to face the storm, and to fight for those who cannot.
The line Daly held on the walls of Peking resonates harder today. It is not just a call to live forever, but to live fully—scarred, sacrificial, and sovereign in purpose.
Sources
[1] U.S. Marine Corps History Division, Medal of Honor Recipients: Daniel Joseph Daly [2] The Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Double Recipients of the Medal of Honor
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