Dan Daly:Legendary Enlisted Marine
The U.S. Marines remember Sergeant Major Daly as one of the greatest
Daly fought the Boxers in China, the Cacos in Haiti, served aboard numerous ships, fought in the "Bananna wars", and fought the Germans in WWI at Belleau Woods.
Dan Daly, a man only 5’6” tall, and weighing about 135 lbs. stands tall in Marine Corps history and legend. He is probably the most famous enlisted Marine of all time. Chesty Puller and Smedley Butler were both officers. Dan Daly shares with Butler the honor of having won the Congressional Medal of honor twice. Smedley Butler might have won it three times, but it wasn’t given to Officers at the time when both he and Daly fought so bravely in Peking China defending the American legation during the Boxer Rebellion.
Private Dan Daly volunteered to single-handedly man the machine gun at the front while the other Marines were rebuilding the barricades. He held his position throughout a night in which the Boxers made repeated attacks. In the morning, over 200 Boxers were found dead in front of the position Dan Daly still held. For this gallant defensive action Daly was awarded his first Congressional Medal of Honor. Butler, still a young officer, also served very bravely as his small force held the legation against overwhelming numbers of opponents. He received the Marine Corps Brevet Medal which was then the highest honor a Marine Officer could be awarded for bravery under fire (Congress later changed the rules so that officers could win the Medal of Honor). If Butler had been eligible, he might have later become the only Marine in history to win three such medals.
Daly won his second Medal of Honor as a Gunnery Sergeant in Haiti fighting the Caco rebels. His unit was surrounded and badly outnumbered, and forced to cross a river to take up a new defensive position. The machine gun was lost on the bottom of the river. Sneaking out alone at night, Daly retrieved the machine gun, and set up a strong defensive position. The Marines then split into three fire teams, and maneuvered against the Cacos. By the end of the engagement, virtually all of their enemies lay dead, and the Marines had taken very few casualties. For his service, initiative, and bravery in Haiti, Daly won his second Medal of Honor.
Later, during WWI, in the battle of Belleau Woods Dan Daly again led his men to a hard fought victory, this time against the Germans. He is famously quoted for urging his men forward by saying “Do you sons of bitches want to live forever?” This became a legendary phrase in the Corps, and has a sort of dual meaning if you consider the way Daly himself lives on in memory and legend. Despite taking heavy casualties the Marines won this battle, and Daly survived. At one point he achieved the rank of Sergeant Major. There is only one higher enlisted rank possible, and that is Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps top enlisted advisor to the Commandant. Fighting bravely and surviving in so many tight places it is easy to see why Dan Daly epitomizes Marine enlisted men, and is a legend with few equals.
