After being deployed to China to defend Christian citizens against the brutal attacks of the radical
Boxer Rebellion at the turn of the 20th century, Dan Daly found himself defending
the Tartar Wall entirely by himself as his fellow soldiers ran to seek reinforcements.
As darkness covered the land, hundreds of Boxer rebels stormed the US post,
with wave after wave of relentless fighters making their way towards the lone defender. Daly then
used his bolt-action rifle and a machine gun to fend against the invading hordes, as he was all
that stood between them and the consulate building where scores of refugees were taking shelter.
The violent skirmish was only illuminated by constant muzzle flashes,
and Daly valiantly engaged in brutal hand-to-hand combat with the zealous Boxers.
The encounter dragged on for hours, and when dawn broke,
the American reinforcements could not believe what they found in the scene.
Daly would later receive his first of two Medal of Honors for his actions that day,
and would be close to becoming the only man to ever receive a third one…
Born for Greatness
Born in Glen Cove, New York, in 1873, Dan Daly grew up fascinated by the fantastic
stories of war heroes from America's past. As a child, he led a humble life working as
a newsboy and later becoming a talented boxer despite his short stature and 132-pound weight.
After coming of age, Daly was inspired to enlist, stirred by the tales of the
Spanish-American War and the adventures of Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders.
Thus, in early 1899, he joined the US Marine Corps and set about making his mark.
Alas, despite his eagerness to serve in battle, the Spanish American War
was over by the time he left boot camp, so he was assigned to the Asiatic Fleet.
Daly was disappointed that he would not have a chance to prove his worth, but as
history has proven time and time again, the next significant conflict was just around the corner…
Turmoil in China
Sergeant Major Dan Daly received his first Medal of Honor during the Boxer
Rebellion in China that lasted from 1899 to 1901.
The conflict started as the Chinese political elite was
torn between those that welcomed the nation opening to the world and those
who believed foreign influence was a disease that needed to be excised.
Amid the turmoil, a radical political group that had been tormented by unrest and poverty
quickly gained tremendous power. The Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists
were inveterate advocates of the idea that Christian,
Japanese and Western influence in China had to be stopped at all costs.
Missionaries in the province of Shandong
had also become a particularly concerning issue, as the Treaty of Tientsin,
signed in 1860, had given Christian missionaries complete freedom to buy land, settle and preach
in many Chinese provinces causing severe tension with the already distrustful locals.
It was these foreign preachers that first coined the term Boxers
to refer to members of the radical group, as it was mainly composed of fit young men
that practiced martial arts with movements that looked like shadow boxing.
Tensions escalated as foreign powers gained more and more interest in China
while at the same time the Boxers became more radical and aggressive.
Then, at the turn of the century, the group began
to openly attack Christian settlements and persecute groups of Chinese Christians.
It would take the incursion of a Western alliance to subdue the rising Boxers, and soon
the US Marines arrived in China to help protect Christian refugees from these unrelenting attacks.
Holding Back the Boxer Rebellion
After arriving in China, then-Private Daly and his unit were sent to Peking led by Captain Newt Hall.
While there, they rushed to take back the Tartar Wall,
which had been recently lost to an enemy assault.
As soon as they took the landmark, most of the Marines left to gather supplies
and reinforcements, leaving Daly completely alone to guard the post.
Soon, the Boxers realized that only one man was defending the position, and they
descended upon Daly in the hundreds. The Chinese planned on taking the consulate without mercy,
and all that stood between the innocent people inside and the scores of Boxers was one man.
Accounts vary on what occurred next; some say Daly was armed with just a bolt-action rifle,
while others claim he had access to an M1895 Colt-Browning machine gun.
Whichever the case, he did all he could to withstand the enemies.
Throughout the night, Daly repulsed wave after wave of attackers; the Boxers were primarily
armed with melee weapons with only a few carrying rifles, and they believed that their martial
training made them invulnerable to bullets, which explained their reckless charges into enemy fire.
The confrontation proved savage and brutal, as soldiers did most of the fighting using
bayonets and hand-to-hand combat even when holding rifles. And while Daly was using a machine gun,
much of the encounter was resolved in close quarters.
Marine Corps lore tells that when reinforcements arrived in the morning, the bodies of over 200
Boxers were scattered around the wall where Daly held the position all through the night.
Some historians argue that the number is overblown, but Daly’s unyielding determination,
resourcefulness, and bravery in combat earned him his first Medal of Honor on July 19, 1901.
Haiti
In the years between the Boxer Rebellion and the US Occupation of Haiti,
Dan Daly took innumerable exemplary actions that earned him many medals and recognition. Still, it
wouldn't be until 1915 that his heroic acts would again nominate him for a second Medal of Honor.
The Occupation of Haiti officially started on July 28, 1915, although the first armed
forces to land arrived on January 27, 1914. The occupation resulted from years of political
instability in the island coupled with a growing economic interest in the nation and its resources.
The tense situation reached a boiling point as US assets were being damaged,
and Haiti had six presidents either eliminated or exiled in the span of just 4 years.
President Woodrow Wilson then decided to intervene, and in 1915,
he sent 330 Marines to Port-au-Prince, including Gunnery Sergeant Dan Daly.
On October 24, 1915, Daly and his 35-man platoon
were sent on a scouting operation to the Haitian countryside when they were
suddenly ambushed by almost 400 Haitian Caicos rebels while crossing a river.
The Marines were being fired upon from all sides, and even when they managed
to fight their way across the river and deploy a defensive perimeter,
they lost their machine gun during the ambush and were heavily outnumbered.
Even worse, the sun was rapidly setting, and their situation turned bleaker by the minute.
As the unit repelled one enemy attack after another during the night,
Daly slipped away from the relative safety of the Marines' post and returned to the river.
He then submerged beneath swarthy waters and, in utter darkness,
began to look for the lost machine gun that was the only hope for his platoon.
To his surprise, he found it, strapped it to his back, and returned to the Marines’ post.
Then, as the morning broke, the Marines conducted a counterattack and advanced through the jungle,
spraying machine-gun fire into the rebels and forcing the survivors to retreat.
Daly was awarded a second Medal of Honor for his outstanding actions that night,
an honor that he shared with Major General Butler. Both men became
the first Marines to be awarded two Medal of Honors for separate actions,
with Butler calling Daly: (QUOTE) "The fightin'est Marine I ever knew!"
World War 1
As the US entered World War 1, 44-year-old Dan Daly joined the troops and led a
series of courageous actions that would set him apart once again.
During one confrontation, Daly rescued six wounded Marines that were pinned down by heavy enemy fire,
capturing 13 German soldiers and seizing a machine-gun nest by himself
while armed with just his Colt .45 and hand grenades.
On another occasion, the brave soldier extinguished a fire in the ammunition
dump at Lucy le Bocage, saving numerous Marines' lives under heavy enemy fire, and later he also
extracted a heavily wounded soldier by carrying him over his shoulder and avoiding enemy attacks.
Then one day, after the Marines had been fighting the Germans for hours and were starting to lose
hope, he knew that he needed to do something to turn the tide, so he rose up among his men
and thundered: (QUOTE) "Come on you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?"
The war cry was followed by a successful and devastating charge,
and it would eventually become a legendary and well-known expression within the military.
His troops were so thankful for Daly's selfless actions during June of 1918
that they nominated him for a Medal of Honor once again. However,
Marine commanders hesitated in awarding three Medals of Honor to a single man and instead
granted him the Distinguished Service Cross and Navy Cross for his actions at Belleau Wood.
Only a few men in history have what it takes to become truly legendary;
Sergeant Major Dan Daly was undoubtedly one of them.
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