Nov 30 , 2025
Daniel J. Daly, Marine Twice Awarded the Medal of Honor
The thunder was unrelenting. Smoke clawed at the eyes. Screams mingled with rifle cracks and artillery roars. But there stood Sgt. Maj. Daniel Joseph Daly—unshaken, unfaltering, a lone figure amid the chaos on the Peking Legation rooftops in 1900. Twice he charged forward. Twice he pulled comrades back from death’s door. Twice the U.S. military found a warrior worthy beyond measure.
The Blood Runs Deep: Birth of a Marine Warrior
Born in 1873 to gritty Irish-American roots in Glen Cove, New York, Daniel J. Daly’s story began long before the horrors of foreign battlefields. His upbringing was a testament to hard work and iron resolve. Raised in a rough neighborhood where respect was earned and given sparingly, Daly learned early that honor was currency.
Faith, though quiet, was his anchor. He carried a copy of the Scriptures, a steady reminder that courage without purpose was hollow. The man who once said, “Come on, you sons of bitches! Do you want to live forever?” lived a life that echoed the Psalmist’s cry:
“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” —Psalm 23:4
No saint—he was a soldier forged on the anvil of sacrifice and loss. But his core belief in fighting for something greater than himself never wavered.
The Boxer Rebellion: Where Legends Are Forged in Fire
The summer of 1900 erupted with ferocity during the Boxer Rebellion in China. Foreign legations in Peking under siege. The “Boxers,” fanatical anti-foreign militants, swarmed the city.
Daly, a Marine private then, was in the thick of the nightmare. Surrounded, outgunned, under relentless fire, the men made their stand in a fortress of shattered buildings.
The Medal of Honor was awarded for two acts of reckless valor—both on that rooftop and during the brutal defense of the legation. One citation reads:
“In the presence of the enemy during the battle of Peking, China, 20 June to 16 August 1900, Daly distinguished himself by heroic conduct.”
He was a living wall. When ammo ran low, when soldiers faltered, Daly pressed forward, rifle blazing, voice daring the enemy to come closer.
He was the iron fist Marines needed. A man who turned the tide through sheer force of will.
World War I: Valor Tested, Valor Proven Again
War doesn’t wait. Forty years old when America entered the Great War, Daly was a senior enlisted man—Sgt. Major, the spine of his battalion. His second Medal of Honor came far from the urban fight in Peking. It was the mud-soaked trenches of Belleau Wood, France, in June 1918.
German forces, entrenched and determined, assaulted with brutal intent. The American 5th Marine Regiment stood in the line of fire. Daly again proved the warrior’s heart never fades with age.
In the heat of battle at Bois de Belleau, he braved machine gun fire to rally his men, refusing to yield ground. The citation:
“By his leadership and by his example of personal bravery and unflinching devotion to duty, he contributed materially to the formation of a defensive line and the halting of the enemy advance.”
His experience was the light in the choking fog of war. Men looked to him, a battle-hardened sentinel who never once faltered.
Honors Etched in Blood and Steel
Two Medals of Honor. One man. It’s an honor bestowed on less than a handful in American military history.
He earned the Marine Corps Brevet Medal as well. The Navy Cross, Silver Star, and multiple commendations filled his chest. But for Daly, medals were marks of duty fulfilled—not badges of pride.
Chesty Puller, himself a living Marine legend, said of Daly:
“When you think of the Marine Corps, you think of men like Daniel Daly.”
And that's a legacy carved deep into Marine doctrine and ethos.
Lessons in Valor: What the Old Warrior Leaves Behind
Daniel Daly never sought glory. He carried scars—seen and unseen—not to boast but to remind others of the price of freedom. His life is a testament that courage is not born in ease, but forged in hell.
He showed the world that true leadership is not command behind cover, but standing shoulder to shoulder with the fallen.
It is said that courage is contagious. Sgt. Maj. Daly caught it first, passed it on endlessly.
The battlefield is a bitter place. For every medal, there is loss. For every victory, ghosts.
Yet, in his example, there is hope. A relentless, redemptive fire fuels the warrior’s brotherhood.
“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” —Galatians 6:9
In the echoes of gunfire and the silence of memorials, Daniel Joseph Daly stands immortal—not just as a Marine, but as a symbol of sacrifice, grit, and unwavering purpose.
He answered the call—twice over—and showed us all what it means to fight with heart. To lead with soul. To live with honor beyond the battlefield.
That is the legacy worth remembering.
Sources
1. Marine Corps History Division, Medal of Honor Recipients: Daniel J. Daly 2. U.S. Army Center of Military History, World War I Medal of Honor Recipients 3. The Marine Corps Gazette, “Sgt. Maj. Daniel Daly: Twice Medal of Honor Recipient” 4. Chesty Puller, “Marine Corps Legends” (various military publications)
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