Reports are leaking out that former Marine Cpl. Dakota Meyer, 22, of Greensburg, Ky., could become the first living Marine to receive the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award, and only the second living recipient of the medal since the Vietnam War. Today, Army SSgt. Salvatore Giunta, 25, was awarded the medal. The Marine Corps has submitted the required paperwork for Meyer to receive the medal for actions in September 2009 in Afghanistan's Kunar province.
Meyer, now a civilian, and his unit were involved in a fight with as many as 150 insurgents when he charged into the kill zone alone to find three missing Marines and a Navy corpsman. Meyer had been wounded, the Marine Corps Times reports, and found the missing men, stripped them of their gear and carried them to a safe area. None of them survived. The newspaper said Meyer was unaware he'd been recommended for the medal. "Whatever comes out of it, it's for those guys," he said. "I feel like the furthest thing from a hero. I feel like I let my guys down because I didn't bring them home alive."
Chris Carter from Human Events writes.
On the Black Five blog, retired Special Operations Master Sargeant Jim Hanson, aka Uncle Jimbo, writes.
