Meyer, Dakota (1988-…), is a former rifleman in the United States Marine Corps. In 2011, Meyer was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions while serving in the Afghanistan War (2001-2021). The medal is the highest military decoration awarded by the U.S. government.
On Sept. 8, 2009, Taliban fighters ambushed a combined U.S. and Afghan force in the village of Ganjgal in Afghanistan’s northeastern Kunar Province. Wounded and under enemy fire, Meyer was credited with helping rescue a number of isolated Marines and Afghan soldiers. Meyer was also credited with killing several Taliban fighters and recovering the bodies of four dead Americans. Meyer’s Medal of Honor citation credited his “unwavering courage and steadfast devotion to his U.S. and Afghan comrades in the face of almost certain death.” Meyer was the first living Marine to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War (1957-1975). One other Marine had earned the award posthumously (after death) since then.
Meyer was born on June 26, 1988, in Columbia, Kentucky. He joined the Marines in 2006 after graduating from high school. Meyer served in the Iraq War (2003-2011) before being deployed to Afghanistan. Meyer left active duty in the Marine Corps in 2010 as a corporal. He was later promoted to sergeant in the Individual Ready Reserve. Meyer wrote a book detailing the events at Ganjgal, Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War (2012).
See also Afghanistan War ; Iraq War ; Medals, decorations, and orders ; Taliban ; Vietnam War .
