{"id":1275,"date":"2012-09-26T06:13:53","date_gmt":"2012-09-26T10:13:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/heroes\/?p=1275"},"modified":"2012-09-25T22:48:25","modified_gmt":"2012-09-26T02:48:25","slug":"dakota-meyer-the-hero-who-defied-orders-to-save-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/heroes\/2012\/09\/26\/dakota-meyer-the-hero-who-defied-orders-to-save-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"Dakota Meyer: The Hero Who Defied Orders to Save Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Scott T. Allison and George R. Goethals<\/strong><\/p>\n

The war in Afghanistan is currently the longest war in U.S. history.\u00a0 Americans have gotten used to very little good news coming out of that region of the world, but recently there was something to cheer about. \u00a0A U.S. Marine Corps veteran named Dakota Meyer performed a remarkable feat of heroism and received the Medal of Honor<\/em>, the highest military decoration one can receive. \u00a0Meyer distinguished himself by demonstrating “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States.”<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Here are the stirring details.\u00a0 On September 8, 2009, Sergeant Meyer was serving his country in Afghanistan when he heard on his radio of a Taliban attack on a nearby village.\u00a0 Members of his unit and a number of allied Afghan fighters were being bombarded by enemy fire.\u00a0 He repeatedly asked his superiors for approval to assist those under attack, and he was repeatedly denied permission to do so.\u00a0 It was simply too dangerous, and Meyer was heavily outnumbered.<\/p>\n

Defying orders, Meyer headed into the besieged village. He first encountered several wounded allied Afghan fighters.\u00a0He transported them to safety and then headed back into battle. \u00a0During the next several hours, Meyer entered the \u201ckill zone\u201d five times, rescuing 23 Afghans and 13 Americans.\u00a0 He was under heavy enemy fire the entire time from a numerically superior foe. \u00a0\"\"<\/a>Despite receiving shrapnel wounds to his arm, Meyer was able to kill at least eight Taliban while evacuating his fellow Marines to safety.<\/p>\n

During one of his trips into the village, he stumbled across the bodies of four of his teammates killed by gunfire.\u00a0 \u201cI checked them all for a pulse. Their bodies were already stiff,\u201d Meyer said.\u00a0 Meyer made the decision to bring his friends back home. Bleeding from his shrapnel wound and still under fire, he carried their bodies back to a Humvee with the help of Afghan troops.<\/p>\n

Meyer has said that he expected to die that day.\u00a0 He also remains quite humble about his heroism, focusing instead on the guilt and pain of not being able to save the lives of the four men whose bodies he collected. “It’s hard getting recognized for the worst day of your life.\u00a0 It’s a really tough thing,” Meyer said.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s not a day — not a second — that goes by when I don\u2019t think about what happened that day.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t just lose four [colleagues] that day; I lost four brothers.\u00a0 I went in there to get those guys out alive, and I failed. So I think it\u2019s more fitting to call me a failure than a hero.”<\/p>\n

During the Medal of Honor<\/em> ceremony, President Obama addressed Meyer\u2019s obvious heartache. \u201cDakota, I know that you\u2019ve grappled with the grief of that day; that you\u2019ve said your efforts were somehow a failure because your teammates didn\u2019t come home,\u201d Obama said. \u201cBut as your commander-in-chief, and on behalf of everyone here today and all Americans, I want you to know it\u2019s quite the opposite. You did your duty, above and beyond, and you kept the faith with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps that you love. \u00a0Because of your honor, 36 men are alive today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Below is a clip of the Medal of Honor<\/em> being awarded to Dakota Meyer.<\/p>\n