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

Dec 14 , 2025

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

Hell isn’t just a place; it’s moments stretched thin until your soul breaks—or hardens. Sergeant Major Daniel Joseph Daly lived through those fires twice. Not once but twice awarded the Medal of Honor. One legend standing tall from the grime of China’s Boxer Rebellion to the mud-soaked trenches of World War I. This man was raw courage carved in flesh and sacrifice.

Born of the Grit and Fire

Daly came from Glen Cove, New York—rough streets, rougher upbringings. He was a blue-collar kid with fists ready and honor sharper than his nails. Joined the Marine Corps in 1899, a raw private hungry for something bigger than the boxing rings back home.

His faith wasn’t about sermons or church pews. It was the quiet backbone that steadied him when chaos screamed. A belief in a code—duty, loyalty, sacrifice. Not braggadocio, but the deep, reckless trust in your brothers beside you. "God," Daly once said, "grants me courage, but I have to fight for it."

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” — Deuteronomy 31:6

The Battle That Forged a Warrior

The first Medal of Honor came during the Boxer Rebellion, 1900. A ragtag alliance defending foreign legations in Beijing, surrounded by thousands of hostile fighters. Daly was a sentry on a gate, rifle in hand, staring down a tidal wave of death.

His citation reads he “fought with consummate coolness, presence of mind, and daring” during the siege. When Japanese troops retreated, Daly and his Marines held the line, forcing the enemy back. One man, a wall. They called him “Devil Dan” for a reason. He didn’t flinch.[^1]

War would knock again in 1918, under the harsh skies of France. The Battle of Belleau Wood—an inferno where the Marine Corps earned its name. Daly, by then a gunnery sergeant, moved through no-man’s-land like a shadow of death. When his men faltered, Daly shouted orders and charged machine gun nests alone.

The legend goes that he snapped at his weary Marines who faltered under machine gun fire:

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

Those words became a rallying cry. He single-handedly beat back enemy attacks. His second Medal of Honor citation notes his “extraordinary heroism” and ability to inspire under hell’s thumb.[^2]

Recognition Etched in Valor

Two Medals of Honor. Few have worn that burden. Twice the nation marked him for deeds beyond valor. The first decoration for holding a line in Beijing, the second for near-suicidal attacks in France’s worst.

The citations speak only half the truth. Fellow Marines whispered stories of a man who bled with them, laughed under fire, cursed fate, but never broke. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, called Marines like Daly “the shock troops America needed.”

He rose through the ranks, ultimately Sergeant Major—a testament not just to grit but leadership. Men trusted him because he stood in the mud and fire with them, never above them.

Legacy Beyond Medals

Daly’s story isn’t one for glory’s sake. It’s a reminder that courage is carved from decisions made in seconds—the split between survival and sacrifice.

He carried scars nobody saw. The physical and mental toll was quiet but relentless. After the wars, Daly served stateside, training Marines with a fierce commitment to prepare the next generation for hell and beyond.

Veterans today still honor his words, a blueprint for grit and faith fused: Stand firm. Lead hard. Protect your own. Fight like you mean it.

His life echoes this scripture, powerful in its simplicity:

“No one has greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” — John 15:13

Daly’s legacy isn’t the medals pinned on his chest. It’s the unyielding spirit that refuses to quit—no matter the battlefield, no matter the pain. He was a Marine forged in fire, a man whose life reminds us what victory demands: sacrifice, faith, and the grit to stare down hell itself.

Remember that next time you face your own war—fight not just to survive, but to stand unbroken. That is the message carried from the muddy trenches of Belleau Wood to the dusty streets of Beijing. That’s Daniel Joseph Daly. That’s what courage looks like.

[^1]: Museum of the Marine Corps — Citation for Daniel J. Daly, Boxer Rebellion [^2]: U.S. Army Center of Military History — Medal of Honor Recipients: World War I