The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: twyacht on September 15, 2011, 07:00:16 PM
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Disobeying orders, he repeatedly drove into enemy fire to save over 30 of his fellow soldiers, and retrieve the fallen. Quite a young man indeed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_Meyer
Medal of Honor citation
"The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pleasure in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to
CORPORAL DAKOTA L. MEYER
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
For service as set forth in the following
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the repeated risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a member of Marine Embedded Training Team 2-8, Regional Corps Advisory Command 3-7, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, on 8 September 2009. When the forward element of his combat team began to be hit by intense fire from roughly 50 Taliban insurgents dug-in and concealed on the slopes above Ganjgal village, Corporal Meyer mounted a gun-truck, enlisted a fellow Marine to drive, and raced to attack the ambushers and aid the trapped Marines and Afghan soldiers. During a six hour fire fight, Corporal Meyer single-handedly turned the tide of the battle, saved 36 Marines and soldiers and recovered the bodies of his fallen brothers. Four separate times he fought the kilometer up into the heart of a deadly U-shaped ambush. During the fight he killed at least eight Taliban, personally evacuated 12 friendly wounded, and provided cover for another 24 Marines and soldiers to escape likely death at the hands of a numerically superior and determined foe. On his first foray his lone vehicle drew machine gun, mortar, rocket grenade and small arms fire while he rescued five wounded soldiers. His second attack disrupted the enemy’s ambush and he evacuated four more wounded Marines. Switching to another gun-truck because his was too damaged they again sped in for a third time, and as turret gunner killed several Taliban attackers at point blank range and suppressed enemy fire so 24 Marines and soldiers could break-out. Despite being wounded, he made a fourth attack with three others to search for missing team members. Nearly surrounded and under heavy fire he dismounted the vehicle and searched house to house to recover the bodies of his fallen team members. By his extraordinary heroism, presence of mind amidst chaos and death, and unselfish devotion to his comrades in the face of great danger, Corporal Meyer reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service."[12]
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/16/us/dakota-meyer-ex-marine-is-awarded-medal-of-honor.html
Sometimes an order is not ignored,.....it just isn't received.... ;)
Meyer wanted two things after learning the MOH news,
1) A beer with the POTUS
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm182/twyacht/6148033865_d6e78141e5.jpg)
2) A full service and Memorial for his fallen comrades at Arlington.
He got both, no questions asked.
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No disrespect is intended toward the Sgt with this post, Grunts will understand what I mean.
FTA : "When the forward element of his combat team began to be hit by intense fire"
http://news.yahoo.com/defying-orders-hero-marine-saved-other-troops-215814570.html
"Despite Meyer's heroism, four Americans died in the ambush: 1st Lt. Michael Johnson, a 25-year-old from Virginia Beach; Staff Sgt. Aaron Kenefick, 30, of Roswell, Ga.; Corpsman James Layton, 22, of Riverbank, Calif.; and Edwin Wayne Johnson Jr., a 31-year-old gunnery sergeant from Columbus, Ga."
Thats the whole command element for the Platoon plus the Co. Gunny, WTF were they doing as the "advance element ?
The Lt, or the SSGT might have been with either of the other 2 but all 4 of them together is a big no no.
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Thats the whole command element for the Platoon plus the Co. Gunny, WTF were they doing as the "advance element ?
I doubt Corporal Meyer (Cpl. at the time), had anything to do with that.
However, you do bring up good points. After watching Generation Kill, even though it was an HBO thing,....if it is even 25% based on fact, I can see the SNAFU scenario in this engagement and "grunts" and Veterans saying exactly what you pointed out.
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Like I posted, I meant no disrespect to the SGT, obviously he's not going to tell a Lt. how to run his Platoon.
(Actually the then, Cpl, seems to be the only one who was really thinking )
But the details caught my eye while I was reading the reports.
The platoon was decapitated . The highest authority left in the "forward element" were squad leaders.
It quit being a "force" and was reduced to a group of squads, reducing its effectiveness and ability to coordinate action.
This may have been the reason for the delay in getting air support.
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What about the guy driving the truck? Did he get any kind of medal?
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What about the guy driving the truck? Did he get any kind of medal?
One of the Yahoo news reports said he got the Navy Cross, which is also nothing to sneeze at.
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Dakota lives in the next county over from me. The whole region down here is very proud of him.
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Dakota lives in the next county over from me. The whole region down NATION here is very proud of him.
FIFY I know that's what you meant to say. ;)
Crusader
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Of note, the SGT exemplifies SEMPER FI. Not only for his actions on the battlefield but at home. When he found he was getting the MOH, he requested services be held for his fallen Marines. That says an awful lot.
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Dakota lives in the next county over from me. The whole region down here is very proud of him.
They should be.
Of note, the SGT exemplifies SEMPER FI. Not only for his actions on the battlefield but at home. When he found he was getting the MOH, he requested services be held for his fallen Marines. That says an awful lot.
It seems to be a pretty universal sentiment among MOH recipients that they are merely representing many others.
I once heard Marine Commandant Gen. Wilson make the comment that "at Tarawa my men won me a Medal of Honor".
Another frequent comment is "I didn't do anything special, you should have seen what So and So did".
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Hi;
This goes to show everyone that America still has young Men and Women that are willing to sacrifice for this Country. You take an average high school grad and when properly trained has more responsibility and maturety than those who do not enlist.
It is a shame that most who do not serve this country end up making more money and promotions than the Vet. Non Vets usually end up making the decisions that effect all of us. In the end Vets are just glad to be back home and want to live in peace. When Sgt. Meyers was first called about his being awarded the MOH, he stated that he was at work and if he did not go on working he would not be paid. The White House then called him back during his lunch.
What is needed is to get those who burn the flag and protest at Military Funerals on planes and put them in between the bad guys and the good guys. That would make the enemy expend a lot of munitions on worthless targets.
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Great work and very well deserved. Both he and the driver went above and beyond the call of duty.
Tom, you hit it right on the head about the command element being wiped out right off the bat. Unlucky, fortunately the servicemen and women today are trained so well that the next in line assumes command and continues on to complete the objective. That, in my opinion, reflects how professional our soldiers are today.
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Great work and very well deserved. Both he and the driver went above and beyond the call of duty.
Tom, you hit it right on the head about the command element being wiped out right off the bat. Unlucky, fortunately the servicemen and women today are trained so well that the next in line assumes command and continues on to complete the objective. That, in my opinion, reflects how professional our soldiers are today.
We were trained like that back in '66.
And it is a tremendous advantage.
Part of the training was examples given of armed forces where the field level leaders where taken out and the unit ceased to function.
Drilled and drilled it into us that if the bosses are hit, don't worry to much about who is next in command.... You know what, step up and to do.
Not only was it good tactics, it was wonderful for moral....thinking you are being given the skill, knowledge and responsibility to run the show.
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The problem with that is that the person who has been paying attention to the "larger picture is removed from the scene and the responsibility is suddenly dropped in the lap of some one who has only been aware of the situation in his immediate vicinity. Lots of bad things can happen while he is getting up to speed.