Sgt. Dakota Meyer Receives Medal Of Honor Today At 23 Years Old.

[twyacht]

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

2) A full service and Memorial for his fallen comrades at Arlington.


He got both, no questions asked.

[tombogan03884]

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.

[twyacht]

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.

[tombogan03884]

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.

[Big Frank]

What about the guy driving the truck? Did he get any kind of medal?

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

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.

[gunman42782]

Dakota lives in the next county over from me.  The whole region down here is very proud of him. 

[crusader rabbit]

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

[jnevis]

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.

[tombogan03884]

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".