Daniel J. Daly, Marine Hero of Belleau Wood and the Boxer Rebellion

Feb 05 , 2026

Daniel J. Daly, Marine Hero of Belleau Wood and the Boxer Rebellion

Bloodied hands clutch the earth beneath weary boots. Explosions carve the air. Men scream. Yet Daniel J. Daly stands firm—alone with six rifles trained on him in the teeth of the Boxer Rebellion. No fear. No hesitation. Just a born warrior’s resolve sharpened by years of hell-hardened combat.

The Forge of Faith and Honor

Born in Glen Cove, New York, 1873, Daniel Joseph Daly grew up with fire in his belly and steel in his spine. A son of the working class, he learned early that life doesn’t give—you take. His devout Catholic faith grounded him amid the chaos, shaping a code where honor and duty transcended pain and fear.

Legends say Daly carried a rosary in his pocket through killing fields and sandstorms alike. His faith wasn’t a shield from death but a fuel that forged his courage. A Marine Corps mantra wasn’t enough. He lived by a higher calling: to protect those beside him, no matter the cost.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” —John 15:13

The Battle That Defined a Legend

Boxer Rebellion, June 1900. The siege of the foreign legations in Beijing. The enemy swarmed like wolves hungry for blood and broken spirits. Daly was a corporal, part of the small band defending the Tartar Wall.

Where most broke, he stood. Where many fled, he advanced. His Medal of Honor citation tells it plainly:

“In the presence of the enemy during the battle of Peking, Corporal Daly distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism while in the presence of the enemy.”^[1]

One of the most iconic moments in Marine Corps lore came here. Daly reportedly yelled, “Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?”—rallying Marines against overwhelming odds. Whether shouted or whispered through the smoke, it rallied broken men into fighters.

But Daly would not settle for one Medal of Honor.

Hell and Honor in the Great War

World War I was a different beast, a cauldron of mud, gas, and death. Daly, by now a seasoned Marine and sergeant major, found himself at Belleau Wood, June 1918—a brutal battle to seize French soil from the German Army. The air was thick with machine-gun fire and screams soaked in burning powder.

Amid this hellscape, Daly performed an act that earned him his second Medal of Honor. He carried messages back and forth across open ground under relentless shelling, displaying fearless leadership and boundless courage. This was no recital—he conveyed the lifeblood of battle commands in a place where hesitation meant death.

From his second Medal of Honor citation: “For extraordinary heroism while serving with the 73d Company, 6th Regiment (Marines), 2d Division, A.E.F., in action near Bois de Belleau, France, June 6–10, 1918.”^[2]

Other Marines remembered Daly as a rock—never wavering, always the backbone of the unit.

Honors Worn Like Battle Scars

Two Medals of Honor. A rarity that etched Daly’s name into Marine Corps history. No embellishment needed—his awards speak of relentless valor.

Historians and his comrades alike praise Daly’s unyielding spirit. Marine Major Smedley Butler, himself a double Medallist, called Daly:

“The fighting Marine par excellence—the man who typified the courage and spirit of the Corps.”^[3]

Daly rose to sergeant major, the highest enlisted rank—a testament to his leadership, not just his ferocity in battle. But medals and rank never defined him.

Legacy: The Warrior’s Enduring Truth

Daniel J. Daly fought not for glory, but for the brother beside him. The sacrifices he made cut deep and left scars unseen. He embodied a truth too many forget: Valor is not the absence of fear but mastery over it.

His life breathes a call into the marrow of every veteran, every citizen: to stand when the world trembles, to sacrifice when others falter.

In a quiet moment far from war’s roar, he once said,

“This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine.”

Not just a line—it is a covenant. A promise of duty etched in blood and bone.

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up.” —1 Thessalonians 5:11

Daly’s story is not a relic. It’s a living testimony that courage, faith, and sacrifice endure beyond war. For those who walk the line today, his legacy is a torch. Pass it—with honor, with grit, and with unyielding resolve.

Sources

[1] U.S. Marine Corps, “Medal of Honor Citation: Daniel J. Daly,” Medal of Honor Recipients: 1863-1978 (1979). [2] U.S. Government Printing Office, Medal of Honor Citations, WWI (1925). [3] Smedley Butler, War Is a Racket (1935).