Ambush Survivor Dakota Meyer
Dakota Meyer, who left active-duty service in the U.S. Marine Corps in June 2010, will receive the Medal of Honor for his actions in Afghanistan. The former corporal will be the third living service member to receive the Medal for actions in Afghanistan or Iraq, and the first living Marine to receive it in 41 years. U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta personally accepted the Medal in November 2010, and Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry did so just last week.
On Sept. 8, 2009, Meyer and his unit came under attack from jihadis who outnumbered them four to one. Urgent calls for artillery support were refused, leading to letters of reprimand for some of the officers heading the operation. When helicopter pilots couldn't help retrieve four missing service members due to fierce enemy fire, the Marine Times reports, "[Meyer] charged into a kill zone on foot and alone to find three missing Marines and a Navy corpsman, who had been pinned down under intense enemy fire in Ganjgal, a remote village near the Pakistan border in violent Kunar province. Already wounded by shrapnel, Meyer found them dead and stripped of their gear and weapons, and helped carry them from the kill zone." Meyer said that he feels like "the furthest thing from a hero" because he didn't recover his comrades alive. Our hearts go out to the families of the fallen Marines and Navy corpsman, as well as Meyer. His selfless heroism is worthy of honor.
Marine Corps Times
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