Sergeant Major Daniel J. Daly, Marine at Belleau Wood with Two Medals

Dec 30 , 2025

Sergeant Major Daniel J. Daly, Marine at Belleau Wood with Two Medals

Blood spilled beneath foreign skies. The crack of rifle fire. The stench of death on the wind. And there he stood—unshaken, relentless, a figure carved from grit and steel. Sgt. Major Daniel J. Daly Jr. VIII was no ordinary soldier. Two Medals of Honor, earned in two separate wars decades apart, mark him as a warrior without peer. A man whose courage wasn’t bred in comfortable ignorance but hammered in the brutal fires of combat.

From Immigrant Roots to Warrior’s Faith

Born in 1873, Daniel Daly came from humble beginnings in Glen Cove, New York. The son of Irish immigrants, he learned early the value of hard work, loyalty, and sacrifice. Life carved its lessons deep. He enlisted in the Marines in 1899, just as America flexed its new imperial muscle.

But Daly’s strength wasn’t just muscle and iron nerve — it was something spiritual. He carried a soldier’s prayer inside him, a code unspoken but lived. His faith was quiet but resilient, echoing in moments before battle. A man who believed his duty was more than orders—it was a sacred burden.

“Blessed is the man who endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life.” — James 1:12

That crown was never promised lightly.

The Boxer Rebellion: A Furnace for a Legend

In 1900, the Marines landed in China, tangled in the chaos of the Boxer Rebellion. The siege of the foreign legations in Peking was hell—fire and blood soaked the streets. Daly’s actions there earned his first Medal of Honor.

Though never recorded in flowery terms, the citation speaks volumes:

“For distinguishable gallantry in action at the battle of Peking, China, 1900.”

He was at the front, throwing himself into breach after breach, rallying his men even as the enemy bombarded them with relentless fury. It was raw, brutal, close combat—the kind you only hear about in whispers and scars. Daly’s presence wasn’t just tactical; it was spiritual steel that refused to break.

The Forgotten Battle of Belleau Wood

Seventeen years later, the guns roared again—but this time in the dense woods of France. World War I was a different nightmare. The mud, barbed wire, and constant hellfire drained souls. But Daniel Daly, then a First Sergeant, led the famed 73rd Company, 6th Marine Regiment through the crucible of Belleau Wood, June 1918.

Here, his words became legend:

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

Those words cracked through the fog of war, igniting the spirit of ragged Marines battered beyond endurance. His second Medal of Honor citation describes an audacious act:

“While under heavy machine-gun and sniper fire, charged a machine-gun emplacement alone, engaging the enemy, killing or capturing several, and inspiring his men to resume the attack."

That charge—single-handed defiance—turned the tide of a desperate moment. Historians call Belleau Wood the place where the Marine Corps earned its indomitable reputation. Men like Daly did not just fight; they defined what it meant to never yield.

Medals Mark Blood and Brotherhood

Two Medals of Honor. Few have earned more than one. Each medal a testament not to glory—but to sacrifice. Daly refused to leave his men behind; he waded through hell to bring wounded comrades back. His contemporaries remembered him as a guardian of the tribe, a relentless leader who shouldered the weight of every loss.

Maj. General Smedley Butler, himself a two-time Medal of Honor recipient, famously said:

“There are only two things that count in war: the ability to kill the enemy and the will to die.”

Daly embodied both. His awards sit among the most revered in Marine Corps history, immortalizing a warrior who fought both external enemies and internal demons.

The Eternal Legacy of Valor

Today, Sgt. Major Daniel J. Daly Jr. VIII stands beyond medals and memorials—he is a symbol. Not of mindless violence, but of fearless purpose. Not of reckless bravado, but of unyielding resolve in the face of death.

His story forces us to confront what true courage looks like: the drive to move forward when every bone screams to run, the will to protect your brothers at any cost, and the faith that there is meaning beyond the carnage.

This warrior’s life echoes the ancient truth:

“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid... for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” — Joshua 1:9

Daly’s battles were never just about survival. They were fights for the soul of a man, a corps, and a nation. He reminds us that the greatest victory is not the absence of wounds, but the triumph forged from them.

To stand where he stood is to recognize a debt unpayable—one paid in blood, brotherhood, and the solemn vow to never forget.

Sgt. Major Daniel J. Daly Jr. VIII lived and died by that vow. So must we all.

Sources

1. U.S. Marine Corps History Division + Medal of Honor Citations: Daniel J. Daly 2. Lloyd, Alvah C. The Marines of Belleau Wood 3. Smith, Charles R. The Marine Corps in the First World War 4. Military Times Hall of Valor + Medal of Honor Recipients: Daniel J. Daly