USA Patriotism! ... "Showcasing Pride of America"USA Store! ... American / Patriotic themed gift products at USA Patriotism!

Home - Articles - Heroes - Photos - Poems - Stories - Students - Music - Videos
Quotes - Speeches - References - Great Patriots - Honor Halls - Stars for Troops
USA's Birth - New Content
- About - Contact - Press
- CureNow - Donate
- Privacy

Click To Google Search USA Patriotism!
USA Patriotism! YouTube ChannelJoin / Like the USA Patriotism! Facebook pagePinterestLinkedInUSA Patriotism! Instagram ChannelUSA Patriotism! On TwitterUSA Patriotism! at Flickr

Patriotic
Video

Collectibles, apparel, and other gifts ... for Marines, Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, and veterans! Checks with USA, military, and other patriotic designs Free Gifts from The Bradford Exchange Online

President Barack Obama awards Retired U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Dakota L. Meyer the Medal of Honor . . . for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, while serving with Marine Embedded Training Team 2-8, Regional Corps Advisory Command 3-7, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, on September 8, 2009.U.S. Navy / Marine Medal of Honor medalDakota Meyer

Medal of Honor Presentation

White House
September 15, 2011 

President Barack Obama awards Retired U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Dakota L. Meyer the Medal of Honor . . . for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, while serving with Marine Embedded Training Team 2-8, Regional Corps Advisory Command 3-7, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, on September 8, 2009.


Video courtesy of the White House

Text of President Barack Obama's Remarks

I want you to imagine it's September 8, 2009, just before dawn. A patrol of Afghan forces and their American trainers is on foot, making their way up a narrow valley, heading into a village to meet with elders. And suddenly, all over the village, the lights go out. And that's when it happens. About a mile away, Dakota, who was then a corporal, and Staff Sergeant Juan Rodriguez-Chavez, could hear the ambush over the radio. It was as if the whole valley was exploding. Taliban fighters were unleashing a firestorm from the hills, from the stone houses, even from the local school.

And soon, the patrol was pinned down, taking ferocious fire from three sides. Men were being wounded and killed, and four Americans -- Dakota's friends -- were surrounded. Four times, Dakota and Juan asked permission to go in; four times they were denied. It was, they were told, too dangerous. But one of the teachers in his high school once said, “When you tell Dakota he can't do something, he's is going to do it.” And as Dakota said of his trapped teammates, “Those were my brothers, and I couldn't just sit back and watch.”

Then-Marine Corps Cpl. Dakota Meyer poses for a photo while deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan’s Kunar province. Meyer will receive the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama on Sept. 15, 2011, making him the first living Marine recipient of the nation’s highest award for valor in combat since the Vietnam War. Meyer was assigned to Embedded Training Team 2-8 advising the Afghan army in Afghanistan’s eastern provinces bordering Pakistan. Courtesy photoThe story of what Dakota did next will be told for generations. He told Juan they were going in. Juan jumped into a Humvee and took the wheel; Dakota climbed into the turret and manned the gun. They were defying orders, but they were doing what they thought was right. So they drove straight into a killing zone, Dakota's upper body and head exposed to a blizzard of fire from AK-47s and machine guns, from mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.

Coming upon wounded Afghan soldiers, Dakota jumped out and loaded each of the wounded into the Humvee, each time exposing himself to all that enemy fire. They turned around and drove those wounded back to safety. Those who were there called it the most intense combat they'd ever seen. Dakota and Juan would have been forgiven for not going back in. But as Dakota says, you don't leave anyone behind.

For a second time, they went back -- back into the inferno; Juan at the wheel, swerving to avoid the explosions all around them; Dakota up in the turret -- when one gun jammed, grabbing another, going through gun after gun. Again they came across wounded Afghans. Again Dakota jumped out, loaded them up and brought them back to safety.

For a third time, they went back -- insurgents running right up to the Humvee, Dakota fighting them off. Up ahead, a group of Americans, some wounded, were desperately trying to escape the bullets raining down. Juan wedged the Humvee right into the line of fire, using the vehicle as a shield. With Dakota on the guns, they helped those Americans back to safety as well.

For a fourth time, they went back. Dakota was now wounded in the arm. Their vehicle was riddled with bullets and shrapnel. Dakota later confessed, “I didn't think I was going to die. I knew I was.” But still they pushed on, finding the wounded, delivering them to safety.

And then, for a fifth time, they went back -- into the fury of that village, under fire that seemed to come from every window, every doorway, every alley. And when they finally got to those trapped Americans, Dakota jumped out. And he ran toward them. Drawing all those enemy guns on himself. Bullets kicking up the dirt all around him. He kept going until he came upon those four Americans, laying where they fell, together as one team.

U.S. Marines Corps EmblemDakota and the others who had joined him knelt down, picked up their comrades and -- through all those bullets, all the smoke, all the chaos -- carried them out, one by one. Because, as Dakota says, “That's what you do for a brother.”

Dakota says he'll accept this medal in their name. So today, we remember the husband who loved the outdoors --Lieutenant Michael Johnson. The husband and father they called “Gunny J” -- Gunnery Sergeant Edwin Johnson. The determined Marine who fought to get on that team -- Staff Sergeant Aaron Kenefick. The medic who gave his life tending to his teammates -- Hospitalman Third Class James Layton. And a soldier wounded in that battle who never recovered -- Sergeant First Class Kenneth Westbrook.

Note... Marines, Staff Sergeant Juan Rodriguez-Chaves and Capt. Adeomola Fabayo, received the Navy Cross (second only to the Medal of Honor) for their actions on this day... see the video report about them

Dakota Meyer's Medal of Honor Citation

Comment About Dakota Meyer, Medal of Honor Recipient

Dakota Meyer - Hall of Heroes Induction

Dakota Meyer's Heroic Story in His Own Words with Comments by Family and Friends

Article > Marine's Gallantry Earns Highest Military Honor

Poem about Dakota Meyer > Hero Of The Corps  || Other Poems > The U.S. Marines | America's Greatest Heroes

 

USA Flag Coverings
Satute of Liberty / Flag Mugs and Steins

 USA, military, and other patriotic themed pullover and button down Polo shirts

USA Flag and other American Theme Caps and Hats

USA Gifts Store! ... over 1,000 American / Patriotic themed products at USA Patriotism! USA / Americana theme ... polo shirts, t-shirts, shorts, hats, caps, swimwear, sweatshirts, hoodies, hats, jackets, under garments, and other apparel items American Pride: Poems Honoring America and Her Patriots! by David G. Bancroft