Daniel Daly's Two Medals of Honor from Tientsin to Belleau Wood

Jan 05 , 2026

Daniel Daly's Two Medals of Honor from Tientsin to Belleau Wood

Sgt. Maj. Daniel Joseph Daly stood alone on a sandbagged parapet, rifle slung low. Around him, chaos tore through the streets of Tientsin in June 1900. Hordes of Boxers and Imperial Chinese troops pressed hard, wild eyes blazing with hate. When his Marines wavered, Daly sharpened their steel with resolve—he charged, voice ringing, a wall of one man defying a tide of enemies. Not once did he falter. Not once did he blink. Two decades later, bloodied once again in the mud of Belleau Wood, he gripped the line like a man possessed of a mission beyond survival.

Background & Faith: The Making of a Marine and a Warrior

Born in 1873 in Glen Cove, New York, Daniel Daly carved himself out of the Irish-American grit of Brooklyn’s rough streets. No silver spoon—just a fierce sense of duty and an iron will. He joined the Marine Corps in 1899, barely fit to be called a man, but with a spark that would burn decades longer than most.

Daly knew violence, but he carried a deeper code—the Marine Corps ethos fused with devout Catholic faith. “God gave me the life I have,” Daly reportedly said, resting his hand over his heart in silent prayer when the guns paused. His faith was a shield, a compass on the battlefield’s savage sea. It wasn’t just about killing—it was about protecting brothers, preserving honor, and embracing sacrifice as a higher calling.

The Battle That Defined Him: Boxer Rebellion and Beyond

The Boxer Rebellion’s streets became Daly’s crucible in 1900. When the multinational relief expeditions marched into China, Daly’s unit was tasked with defending the foreign legations under siege in Tientsin. In a moment etched in Marine Corps lore, Daly, armed with nothing but an M1895 Lee Navy rifle, stood atop the wall and fired single-handedly against the rampaging Boxers. Several rounds later, bloodied yet standing, he shouted orders that held the line and repelled the charge.

For that, he earned his first Medal of Honor—an extraordinary testament to lone courage in the teeth of an overwhelming assault[1].

Fast forward to 1918. The Great War had thrown millions into mud and machine gun fire, but Daly was at the center of the fight again. At Belleau Wood, under hellish artillery barrages and chlorine gas, the Marines struggled against relentless German attacks. Daly walked the line, tearing into the chaos with furious leadership.

Legend says when the Marines wavered under fire, Daly grabbed a rifle, barked, “Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?” Those words steeled the Marines, driving them forward in a battle that would define the Marine Corps for generations[2].

His second Medal of Honor came for seizing and defending a key position in the bloody Battle of Belleau Wood, with courage that saved countless lives and inspired the entire battalion[3].

Recognition and Reverence: A Warrior’s Medals Tell the Story

Two Medals of Honor. Both earned not for the glory, but out of raw need and brutal necessity. Daly's first citation highlights “extraordinary heroism while serving with the relief expedition…” His second Medal lauded his “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty” in the trenches of France[1][3]. In both, his valor wasn’t flashy—it was gritty, direct, and selfless.

General John A. Lejeune, commandant of the Marine Corps, later called Daly “the outstanding Marine of his time.” Fellow Marines recounted how he embodied the Corps’ soul: fearless, loyal, unbreakable.

Legacy & Lessons: Courage, Sacrifice, and Redemption

Daly’s legacy is not just medals or battlefield headlines. It’s his unyielding spirit—the proof that one man, grounded in faith and forged in fire, can hold entire lines when the world seems lost.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) echoes through his deeds. His life reminds combat veterans and citizens alike that sacrifice is a burdensome grace, and courage is a prayer answered on earth.

The scars he bore—physical and spiritual—are the silent witness to a warrior who understood that redemption is found not in the absence of battle, but in how a man stands through it.

Daly’s charge was never just about fighting—it was about enduring. About the quiet, brutal work of holding the line when all hope seems lost. In every Marine who walks the green fields of valor, you hear his voice, sharp and unwavering:

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

Sources

1. Naval History and Heritage Command, Medal of Honor Recipients: China Relief Expedition (Boxer Rebellion) 2. Russell Jack Smith, The Devil’s to Pay: Medals of Honor in World War I (Marine Corps Gazette, 1980) 3. Marine Corps University Press, Medals of Honor of the World War