Daniel J. Daly, Marine Twice Awarded the Medal of Honor

Jan 08 , 2026

Daniel J. Daly, Marine Twice Awarded the Medal of Honor

Sgt. Maj. Daniel Joseph Daly stood with a Colt M1895 smoking in his hands, eyes fixed on the Chinese Boxer rebels pressing in. Around him, the world burned—gunfire, screams, war’s relentless chaos. But Daly was no ordinary Marine. When men faltered, he roared, “Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?” That voice cut through the hell, pushing Marines forward like a shepherd in the abyss. In that moment, he became legend—not just for the fight, but for the iron will that refused to break.

Born of Grit and God

Daniel Daly’s story began in Glen Cove, New York, in 1873. The son of Irish immigrants, he grew up tough and high-spirited. His faith, though unpretentious, ran deep—an unseen armor against life’s cruel blows. Daly carried a soldier’s code, stitched from simple truths: courage over fear, honor over despair, and faith over hopelessness.

He believed that a man’s soul was forged in suffering—that every scar told a story men needed to hear. “It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom’s breath,” he lived by the principle that sacrifice sanctifies even the darkest places.

Battlefield Baptism: Boxer Rebellion, 1900

Daly’s first Medal of Honor came from the ruins of Tientsin during the Boxer Rebellion. The Siege was brutal—enemy militants poured in waves. Daly manned two different posts in furious succession, throwing back attacks that threatened to shatter the Allied coalition.

When the enemy breached the walls, Daly charged them alone, pistol blazing, until he killed three of the enemy with fixed bayonet. Marines credited his relentless ferocity with saving the day and saving lives[^1]. The citation described him as “cool, brave, and skillful.”

The First World War: Valor Beyond Reckoning

World War I carved Daly’s name deeper into Marine Corps history. By then, his voice was a battle cry echoing over muddy trenches and shattered earth. During the Battle of Belleau Wood in June 1918, against withering fire, Daly led his men with a fearless spirit wounded men tried to follow.

He engaged the enemy repeatedly, rallying retreating Marines and slaying foes hand-to-hand. His leadership turned the tide on slaughterfields marked by death and despair. A lieutenant once said afterward, “Daly put his life on the line so often that no one counted the cost but him.”

Two Silver Stars and a Navy Cross later, Marine Corps legend recalls his raw courage, but it was that same unyielding spirit that earned him, against all odds, his second Medal of Honor—a rare and sacred distinction[^2].

In Their Own Words: Honors and Reverence

Daly’s second Medal of Honor citation, awarded for actions in Haiti in 1915 and later WWI, reads like a litany of pure grit: “Displaying extraordinary heroism and unyielding leadership under ceaseless fire.” The Marines he commanded remembered a man not of elegance or grand words but of action, a warrior who bled alongside them.

Commandant John A. Lejeune said it plainly: “Few men have ever confronted danger so often and with such valor.” Commanders and comrades alike saw in Daly a living example of the Marine Corps’ indomitable spirit.

Legacy Written in Blood and Honor

Daniel Joseph Daly’s story is one not of myth but of flesh and bone. His courage was not charismatic fluff but cold sweat and blistered fingers, teeth clenched against the gnaw of fear.

He embodies the hard-earned lessons of combat: courage isn’t the absence of fear, but the choice to face it. Leadership is not a title—it is a burden carried in the mud alongside your men. Sacrifice is never clean or easy, but it is necessary.

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

To read of Daly is to understand why warriors rise again even when the night is blackest. His scars—both physical and spiritual—are a map leading back from the edge where many have fallen. We owe him not only remembrance but resolve: to hold fast in our own fights, whatever their form.

Sgt. Maj. Daniel Joseph Daly’s legacy is a war cry across generations—a testament that valor will not fade, that faith endures beyond the battlefield’s smoke, and that a man who dares to stand when others falter leaves behind a light no darkness can swallow.

Sources

[^1]: Marine Corps History Division, Medal of Honor Recipients, Daniel J. Daly [^2]: Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Daniel J. Daly: Twice Awarded