Dec 30 , 2025
Sgt. Maj. Daniel Joseph Daly, Two-Time Medal of Honor Recipient
He stood alone amid chaos, an ocean of enemy fire slamming down on him. No orders left. No one left but grit, gut, and a burning refusal to quit. Sgt. Maj. Daniel Joseph Daly was that man. Twice awarded the Medal of Honor—the rarest kind of warrior, forged in fire both in China and the trenches of France.
The Boy from Glen Cove: Faith and Grit Forged
Born in 1873, Daniel Daly grew up in New York, a working-class kid who learned early that life was hard and honor cost blood. The streets toughened him. The church steadied him. Faith was never a quiet whisper for Daly—it was his armor. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1899, carrying not just a rifle, but a fierce code: protect your brothers, never back down, act with courage no matter the cost.
He once cited scripture in battle letters, leaning into the promise of Psalm 18:39:
“For You equipped me with strength for the battle; You made my adversaries sink under me.”
This steel and spirit made him a leader from the start—calm under fire, fearless in the thick of it.
The Boxer Rebellion: The Height of Heroism
In 1900, China’s Boxer Rebellion tore through foreign legations in Beijing. The Marines were locked in grim street fights, each moment a fight for life and duty. Daly was a corporal then. His first Medal of Honor came from a fight on July 13, when the Marines’ water supply was cut off. Without hesitation, Daly and others charged a street littered with Chinese fighters multiple times, bearing buckets of water back to a thirsty, desperate force under brutal enemy fire.
“I’m just doing my job,” Daly would say—but his job was a death sentence every time he ran that gauntlet.
His citation speaks simply:
“In the presence of the enemy during the battle near Tientsin, China, Daly distinguished himself by his extraordinary heroism.”
No man could ask for a finer example of selfless courage.
The Great War: A Legend in the Mud and Blood
Fourteen years later, war they called “the War to End All Wars” had drowned Europe in mud and slaughter. By 1918 Daly had climbed to Sergeant Major, the highest rank of enlisted Marines. At Belleau Wood and later, with the 5th Marine Regiment, he led men into hell. But his defining moment cut deeper than any bullet.
His second Medal of Honor was awarded not for a single act of gallantry, but a relentless streak of heroism. In the Battle of Belleau Wood, Daly reportedly shouted, “Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?” This raw, guttural call rattled nerves and sparked Marines to hold the line against the German army’s brutal assaults.
The citation stressed:
“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”
His courage was blood in the veins of every Marine who fought beside him. Commanders turned to him. Comrades admired him. The legend grew.
The Man Behind the Medals
Daly wasn’t trophy-driven. Of his second Medal of Honor, he famously said it was “more than I deserved.” He rated his greatest achievement not medals, but the lives of the Marines he carried through war.
When asked about courage, he replied,
“You get to the point where you don’t run any more. You stand. You shoot. You keep every one of those bastards from getting through.”
That unvarnished truth is what marks a warrior—no brag, no flourish. Just relentless, raw resolve.
His leadership was steeped in humility and a deep Christian faith. He believed every man owed a debt to his country and to his brothers in arms—a debt paid in sweat, blood, and sometimes, life itself.
Legacy of a Warrior-Poet
Daly’s name is etched not only in military history, but in the heart of what it means to be Marine—a No. 1, a fighting man who answers a higher call. He was the first Marine to receive two Medals of Honor, a feat nearly unmatched. Yet, his story is not trophies but testimony.
From Glen Cove to the ghastly fields of World War I, Daly’s life speaks across the generations:
Sacrifice is never painless, but it is sacred. Courage is not the absence of fear—it’s action despite it. Faith can hold a man steady when all else falls.
In final reflection, Psalms again—Psalm 23:4—rings true for men like Daly:
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me.”
Sgt. Maj. Daniel Joseph Daly walked that valley with faith and fury. Every scar, every swing of his rifle, every step forward was testimony to an unyielding purpose: to stand unbroken, so others might live free.
His legacy is not just history. It’s a charge to every veteran and every civilian who hears his name. The fight for honor never ends—it simply passes to the next bearer of the flame.
Sources
1. Marine Corps History Division, Medal of Honor Recipients: Daniel J. Daly 2. U.S. Army Center of Military History, The Boxer Rebellion Medal of Honor Citations 3. Capt. C.E. Teague-Jones, Sergeant Major Daniel J. Daly: The First Two-Time MOH Recipient (Marine Corps Gazette) 4. Psalm 18:39; Psalm 23:4 (King James Bible)
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