Daniel J. Daly, Two-Time Medal of Honor Marine at Belleau Wood

Dec 22 , 2025

Daniel J. Daly, Two-Time Medal of Honor Marine at Belleau Wood

Blood on the barricade. The air thick with gun smoke and deafening shouts. Sergeant Major Daniel Joseph Daly doesn’t blink. He steps forward, alone, against a surging horde. One recoil. Another. A storm of bullets hammer the trench walls as men fall beside him. But Daly — he is the unyielding wall. When others falter, he charges. Fearless. Relentless. A warrior forged in the crucible of rage and duty.

Boy of Brooklyn: The Roots of Relentless Valor

Born 1873 in Brooklyn, New York, Daniel Joseph Daly was no stranger to hard streets and harder choices. Poor Catholic roots instilled grit and an iron faith. His code was straightforward — protect your brothers, fight without hesitation, and own your scars. Before the uniform, Daly roamed the docks and alleyways, learning the language of toughness and survival.

Faith gave him something more than willpower. It was a fortress in the bloodiest hours. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified... for the LORD your God goes with you" (Deuteronomy 31:6). A verse etched in the heart of a man who carried young Marines through hell.

The Boxer Rebellion: Where Legends Are Forged

In 1900, China’s Boxer Rebellion broke open like a rising storm. Daly, a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps, stood on the frontline of the Siege of Peking. Amid swirling chaos, he undertook an act no ordinary Marine could do. Alone, under threat of death, he scaled the city’s walls and drove back waves of attackers.

For this, he received his first Medal of Honor. The citation spoke of “distinguished conduct and extraordinary heroism." But medals never caught the suffering behind the valor — bloody knuckles, nights sleeping in mud, loss of brothers. Daly was not just a soldier; he was the soul of a unit refusing to break.

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

The words aren’t legend — they are testimony to raw courage under fire.

In the Fatherland during World War I, Sgt. Maj. Daly led Marines through the hellish meat grinder of Belleau Wood and the Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge. Facing withering artillery and ruthless machine guns, Daly was a rallying beacon.

On June 6, 1918, during the intense fighting at Belleau Wood, Daly single-handedly charged out of a trench firing his rifle into enemy ranks. His fearless attack smashed German advances and galvanized his comrades.

His second Medal of Honor was earned for these actions in 1918, cementing his place as one of America’s most decorated combat veterans.

Valor Etched in Bronze — Not in Words

Two Medals of Honor. One corps. One man. His citations celebrate his “conspicuous gallantry,” his “most distinguished conduct.” But those words veil the harsh truth of war — the weight of leadership in the face of endless death.

Marine legend says Daly’s grit shaped generations. Fellow Marines knew him as a hardened battlefield pastor, a man who carried the unit’s pain like his own flesh.

When asked about courage, Daly said, “There are only two things you can do in war: run or die. And I’m not running.” Those words carved into the ethos of the Corps as surely as any banner.

Legacy in the Ashes: The Enduring Soldier’s Creed

Sergeant Major Daniel Joseph Daly’s story isn’t just about medals or hallways of fame etched in marble. It’s about the stained hands of sacrifice and the brotherhood born in fire.

In every fought battle, there was a testimony of redemption — how men broken by war found something unbreakable inside.

“No greater love hath a man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Daly lived this not just as words, but as a relentless standard.

His legacy warns us that courage isn’t the absence of fear—but the choice to face it. That honor comes not from glory, but from standing firm when all falls away.

Sgt. Maj. Daniel Joseph Daly gave more than bullets and bravery. He gave us the unfiltered truth buried beneath the medals — that valor is raw, painful, and sacred. The eternal flame of a warrior who asked no quarter but gave all he had. His scars whisper to the weary: Stand firm. Fight on. Redemption rides with us all.

Sources

1. Naval History and Heritage Command, Medal of Honor Recipients, Daniel J. Daly 2. United States Marine Corps History Division, Daly, Daniel Joseph: Twice Medal of Honor Recipient 3. "Marine Corps Legends: Sgt. Maj. Daniel Daly," Marine Corps Gazette 4. The Fighting Marines, Victor H. Krulak, U.S. Marine Corps Historical Memoirs