Sergeant Major Daniel Joseph Daly, A Marine's Story
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Sergeant Major Daniel Joseph Daly, A Marine's Story
Sergeant Major Daniel Joseph Daly was born on November 11, 1873, in New York City to Irish immigrant parents. He was raised in a devout Catholic household shaped by discipline, work, and a strong sense of duty. In 1899, at the age of twenty-five, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps — a decision that would carry him across continents and into some of the fiercest conflicts of the early twentieth century.
Within a year of enlistment, Daly found himself in China during the Boxer Rebellion. During the siege of the foreign legations in Peking, Marines endured continuous attacks under brutal conditions. Daly distinguished himself by holding defensive positions under heavy fire and helping repel repeated assaults. For his actions, he received his first Medal of Honor. He was twenty-six years old.
His career continued through the Philippines and the Caribbean during a period of American intervention and instability. During one assignment aboard the merchant schooner Springfield, Daly extinguished a dangerous fire that threatened the vessel and its cargo. In doing so, he sustained burns. The incident did not occur under battlefield conditions, nor did it carry the drama of a formal combat citation. It was simply another example of the same instinct that marked his life: when something endangered others, he stepped forward.
Daly was also a respected Marine boxer. In the early twentieth century, boxing was part of military culture, a test of endurance, discipline, and composure under pressure. His skill in the ring reinforced his reputation as steady and formidable among fellow Marines.
In 1915, while serving during the United States occupation of Haiti, then-Gunnery Sergeant Daly led a small patrol that was ambushed at night by a significantly larger force. In close-quarters fighting, he reorganized his men under fire and personally engaged attackers. For his gallantry and leadership, he received his second Medal of Honor.
Two Medals of Honor are extraordinarily rare. Daly became one of the very few service members in United States history to receive the decoration twice.
By the time World War I began, he was already a seasoned veteran. At the Battle of Belleau Wood, Marines faced intense German resistance. During one engagement, Daly reportedly rallied his pinned-down company with the words that would become part of Marine Corps legend: “Do you want to live forever?” Though nominated for a third Medal of Honor for his actions in France, he instead received the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Service Cross.
Daly retired in 1919 as a Sergeant Major. He did not seek public recognition or capitalize on his reputation. He returned to New York and lived quietly with his sister. He worked as a security guard on Wall Street, a modest civilian life after decades of war. He died on April 27, 1937
He reportedly declined burial at Arlington National Cemetery, choosing instead to rest closer to home. Today, he is buried at Cypress Hills National Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.
Daniel Daly’s life stretches across a formative era of the Marine Corps. His record includes siege warfare in China, jungle combat in Haiti, and trench fighting in France. Yet his biography also includes smaller moments, extinguishing a fire aboard ship, stepping back into ordinary life after retirement, and remaining close to family.
He was decorated more than most. He lived more quietly than many. And in that contrast, something essential about his character becomes clear.
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.
You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.
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