Daniel Joseph Daly, Marine Who Earned Two Medals of Honor

Jan 28 , 2026

Daniel Joseph Daly, Marine Who Earned Two Medals of Honor

Blood Dust and Iron Resolve. The Boxer Rebellion’s dusty streets soaked with screams and gunpowder. Among them stood Daniel Joseph Daly—unflinching, roaring in the teeth of chaos. Twice the Medal of Honor found his chest. Twice the price paid in blood and grit.

The Roots of a Warrior

Daniel Joseph Daly wasn’t bred in a palace. Born in Glen Cove, New York, 1873, he carved his honor from blue-collar grit and sea salt air. A Marine enlisted in 1899, hardened by saltwater and sacrifice. The grit under his nails wasn’t just sweat—it was resolve forged by faith and hardened by war.

He carried more than his rifle into battle. Scripture and baptismal faith shaped the man behind the uniform. “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life… shall be able to separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:38-39). This belief bore him through hell. The true battle began inside—between fear and faith, between despair and duty.

The Battle That Defined Him: Tientsin, Boxer Rebellion, 1900

August, 1900—China. Tientsin’s narrow streets burned with the fury of the Boxer uprising. Daly’s Marines pinned against overwhelming odds. Chinese insurgents swarmed, rifles blazing, the city itself an inferno.

One moment shattered the night. When a pack of enemy forces charged, threatening to swallow his unit whole, Daly turned and charged headfirst—single-handed, pistol brandished—into the fray. The firefight turned into a raw brawl.

He declared: "Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?"^1

That line, a war cry and challenge, hung heavy in the smoke-filled air. He wasn’t bluffing. His fearless charge saved his squad from annihilation, holding the line where others faltered.

For this valor, he earned his first Medal of Honor—not simply for his courage but for unyielding leadership in the furnace of combat.

The Hell of Belleau Wood: World War I

War had changed, but not those who fought it. By 1918, Sgt. Major Daly stood in the mud and mire of Belleau Wood, France—the nightmare of modern war. Machine guns spat death. The forest was no longer sanctuary but tomb.

His men staggered under brutal German fire. Allied lines crumbled, chaos gnawed at the edges of hope. Once again, Daly charged forward, a rallying beacon for Marines drowning in hell.

He famously told his men, “Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?” again—words that rallied shattered courage into an all-out counterattack.

Under his steady shadow, the Marines retook Belleau Wood inch by bloody inch.

Valor Recognized: Two Medals, One Unbreakable Spirit

No other Marine earned two Medals of Honor for two separate wars. Daly’s first, for Boxer Rebellion heroics, and his second, for the fierce determination at Belleau Wood, set a legacy carved in steel and blood.

The citations speak plainly:

“In the presence of the enemy, Sgt. Major Daly distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism.”^2

The Marine Corps hailed him as the epitome of battlefield valor and leadership. His comrades remembered him not just as a fighting machine, but a brother who refused to let fear govern the fight.

General John A. Lejeune said of him:

“Daly was the fighting Marines’ politician—a man who knew how to encourage, inspire, and lead.”^3

Legacy Forged in Fire

Daly’s story is more than medals. It is a testament to the stubborn flame burning in every warrior’s chest—the refusal to quit, the will to fight for one another in a world gone mad.

His legacy whispers down through the ages: Courage is not the absence of fear, but the mastery of it. Redemption isn’t found on quiet pews but in the grinding mud, in eyes locked with death.

He embodied the Marine Corps mantra before it was doctrine: "Semper Fidelis"—always faithful, to country, to brotherhood, to God.

His battlefield journal is etched in the hearts of every combat veteran who fought through hell only to rise again.

In the end, the greatest battles are not the ones we see on maps—but those fought quietly within. Sgt. Major Daniel Joseph Daly lived, bled, and led with a fierce love for his Marines and a steadfast faith that beyond the bloodshed lies a purpose greater than any war.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you.” — Deuteronomy 31:6

Sources

1. William Manchester, The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Little, Brown and Company. 2. Medal of Honor citations, U.S. Marine Corps History Division Archives. 3. Edwin H. Simmons, The United States Marines: A History, Naval Institute Press.