Dakota Meyer hadn?t thought about joining the Marine Corps until he enlisted on a dare, but he?s become one of the most distinguished Marines of the past decade, saving 36 lives in Afghanistan on what he has called ?the worst day of my life.?
For his heroic acts that day, Meyer, 23, on Thursday will become the first living Marine in nearly four decades to receive the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. military award. On Sept. 8, 2009, during the Battle of Ganjgal in eastern Afghanistan, the then-corporal repeatedly braved enemy fire to rescue 13 U.S. Marines and soldiers and 23 Afghan soldiers.
Continue Reading?To me, it doesn?t seem like it was that great, but everyone else is inspired by this one story,? Meyer told POLITICO. ?It?s just one of millions of stories out there.?
But Meyer, who grew up in small towns in rural Kentucky and dreamed of playing football after high school, is exceptionally humble, military officials say.
President Barack Obama will award him the medal ?for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty,? reads the official citation issued this summer on behalf of Congress.
Gen. James Amos, the commandant of the Marines, said in a statement that Meyer, now a sergeant, ?embodies all that is good about our nation?s Corps of Marines. He is a living example of the brave young men and women whose service, fidelity and sacrifice make us so proud.?
As fellow U.S. troops faced heavy fire from dozens of Taliban insurgents, Meyer dodged bullets to rescue those he was fighting, making five trips by gun truck into harm?s way. Even after suffering a shrapnel wound to his arm, he continued to help his fellow fighters, shooting at insurgents and assisting those he encountered on the battlefield. He collected the bodies of three Marines and one Navy medic and rescued three dozen Americans and Afghans.
?There?s not a day ? not a second ? that goes by [when] I don?t think about what happened that day,? Meyer told the American Forces Press Service this year. ?I didn?t just lose four [colleagues] that day; I lost four brothers.?
He has since stopped talking to reporters about that day, though he remains willing to discuss his overall experience in the Marines and the Medal of Honor. His past comments about the incident have focused not on his rescue of more than 30 people but on his guilt and pain over his inability to save the lives of the four men whose bodies he collected.
?I went in there to get those guys out alive, and I failed. So I think it?s more fitting to call me a failure than a hero,? Meyer told The Lexington Herald-Leader this month. He said he expected to die that day.
?I was just waiting to get killed in there,? he told the paper. ?I never thought I was going to make it out alive.?
But he did make it out, to the joy ? but not the surprise ? of those who know him well.
?Dakota is Dakota,? said Tana Rattliff, who taught Meyer at Green County High School. ?He?s a very loyal person ? one of those people you know you can count on; he?s there.?
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