Sergeant Major Daniel Daly Twice Awarded the Medal of Honor

Nov 14 , 2025

Sergeant Major Daniel Daly Twice Awarded the Medal of Honor

Sgt. Major Daniel Joseph Daly stood on the razor’s edge of hell more than once. Guns cracked like thunder, men fell all around him. But he was the fury that refused to break—the relentless tide that surged forward when others hesitated. Twice the Medal of Honor bore his name. Twice he answered that call with valor seared in bone and spirit. Some saints wear scars, but Daniel Daly wore a Marine Corps uniform, stained with mud and blood and raw edges of war.

Born of Grit and Faith

Born in 1873, New York City forged a tough kid who knew hardship. A son of Irish immigrants, Daly learned early that survival demanded tenacity and honor. That same grit carried him into the United States Marine Corps in 1899—a warrior tempered not just by muscle but by a code deeper than medals.

Faith was his quiet compass. Not the loud kind that demands spotlight, but the silent strength that steadied hands and heart. Proverbs whispered the promise he clung to:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

Daly’s courage wasn’t born in a briefing room, but carved in the crucible of combat and conviction. He carried that scripture like an unseen armor. It was faith that fueled the fierce devotion to his Marines—and to the mission.

The Battle That Defined Him

October 24, 1900. Peking, China. The Boxer Rebellion clawed at the throat of international legations. Daly, a Sergeant with the 1st Marine Regiment, found himself pinned down near the gates of the Old Summer Palace. The enemy pressed in, and American troops faced annihilation or retreat.

The orders were clear: hold the line. Daly didn’t hesitate. There’s a story etched in Marine Corps lore that captures his steel heart—how he ran out under withering fire, grabbed a machine gun, and opened up on enemy forces, breaking their momentum. One eyewitness said, "Daly was a man possessed; bullets swept the ground where he had just stood." His fearless leadership, unshaken in chaos, turned the tide. For that, he earned his first Medal of Honor.

And then the guns thundered louder across the years.

June 1918. World War I had dragged him to the mudfields of Belleau Wood, France. The German lines were a maelstrom of machine gun nests and artillery bursts. Daly was no longer a sergeant but a seasoned Sergeant Major leading Marines into hell’s pit. The woods were thick, the night darker. When enemy forces launched a night assault, it fell to Daly and his men to hold the line.

Quotes from battle reports paint a vivid picture: Daly stood steadfast in the shell-ravaged trenches, rallying his men with nothing but grit and grit alone. He directed counterattacks, moved wounded out of harm’s way, and fought at the lead with lethal precision. His actions that night preserved their position against overwhelming odds. A Silver Star citation notes:

“His intrepid leadership and unwavering courage were instrumental in repelling the enemy’s attack.”

Valor Inscribed in Medals

Only nineteen men have ever earned two Medals of Honor. Daniel Daly sits among legends—one of two Marines given that honor twice. His first citation for the Boxer Rebellion highlights “distinguished conduct in the presence of the enemy.” The second, for extraordinary heroism at Belleau Wood, calls out his “technical skill and bravery in action.”

Despite the glory, Daly stayed humble. Comrades remembered him not for medals but for living by a warrior’s creed. Marine Corps General Smedley Butler once called Daly “one of the bravest men I ever met.” Butler himself was a two-time Medal of Honor recipient and knew the measure of true courage.

Legacy Written in Blood and Brotherhood

Daly’s story is not just about medals or battles fought. It’s about fierce loyalty to those who fight beside you, the scars borne long after bullets stop. He taught Marines that valor wasn’t about glory—it was about sacrifice, grit, and the will to stand firm when all else crumbled.

His legacy is a warning in a world too quick to forget the costs of war. Courage is not a flash of light but the slow burn through darkness. His life demands respect, reverence for the warrior’s journey—from bloodied battlefield to the quiet moments of reflection.

The battlefield journal closes with an echo—an eternal watchword for veterans and civilians alike:

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.” (John 15:13)

Daniel Joseph Daly laid down none of his courage. For those who follow, his footsteps remain a reminder—valor carries a cost. But redemption carries the promise.