Sergeant Meyer – An American Hero

During an early morning in September 2009, a  joint operation unit was to meet with tribal elders in Ganjgal village, Kunar province, Afghanistan, a remote village near the Pakistan border with a known insurgent presence. The unit consisting of  US Military, Afghan National Army and Afghan Border Police came under attack.

Marine Sergeant Dakota L. Meyer watched as his team members were ambushed by more than 50 insurgents in well-fortified positions and armed with machine guns, assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. The joint operation unit took cover, returned fire and made multiple attempts to call for artillery and air support. As casualties mounted, the unit remained pinned down at their position, encircled by enemy fire.

Sergeant Meyer requested permission to enter the kill zone and was denied four times. After the fourth ask, he took it upon himself to leave his relatively safe location and enter the kill zone to help his brothers. Already wounded by shrapnel, Sergeant Meyer entered the kill zone four separate times to evacuate 13 US Marines and Soldiers and 23 Afghan Soldiers.

On his fifth trip in, Sergeant Meyer recovered the bodies of three missing Marines and a Navy corpsman killed in the battle. These Marines and Sailor all were posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal.

This month, President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award, to Sergeant Meyer for his bravery. The medal presentation at the Whitehouse  is below:

As I’ve stated before, heroes don’t do brave things to get medals, but medals recognize the brave things heroes do.  The things Sergeant Meyer did will be taught in Marine Corps boot camp and officer candidate school as an example of valor until the Marine Corps ceases to exist.

Two things, beyond his noted exploits, Sergeant Meyer has done which impress the heck out of me.

1)  Sergeant Meyer has partnered with the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation in order to raise $1 million to educate the children of Marines.

2) During a call with the president’s staff in preparation for the award ceremony, Meyer asked if he could have a beer with the president. When the president heard about the request, he invited Meyer to stop by. It’s not reported what was discussed, but you can bet both men won’t forget the sit-down.

Sergeant Dakota L. Meyer is a hero and as an American and as a former Marine I salute him for his bravery, valor and for his service.