The White House confirmed Friday what former Hawaii Marine Cpl. Dakota Meyer was told privately by President Barack Obama during a phone call last month: Meyer will receive the Medal of Honor for his bravery during a firefight in Afghanistan.
The one-time Marine with the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment at Kaneohe Bay will be presented the nation’s highest military award by Obama on Sept. 15, the White House said.
Meyer, 23, will be the third living recipient — and first Marine — to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. His family will attend the ceremony at the White House.
"It’s a great day for (Meyer) and the United States Marine Corps. On behalf of all the sailors and Marines of 3rd Marine Regiment, we couldn’t be more proud," said Col. Nathan I. Nastase, the regiment’s commander.
The Kentucky man is being recognized for his actions on Sept. 8, 2009, when he was part of Marine Embedded Training Team 2-8 in Kunar province.
Meyer ran through intense gunfire in a three-sided ambush in an attempt to rescue three fellow Marines and a Navy corpsman who were pinned down.
He had been wounded by shrapnel in the elbow on two previous attempts to rescue the Americans using an armored vehicle that was repelled both times by bullets and rocket-propelled grenades.
He found the four U.S. service members dead, but while still under fire, Meyer carried their bodies back to a Humvee with the aid of Afghan troops.
"The main thing of all of this is, it was a bad day, and I wish the day had never happened, especially for the guys that lost their lives and their families," the Marine’s father, Mike Meyer, said from Columbia, Ky.
He said his son feels "like he didn’t complete his job. He didn’t get to his guys in time."
Dakota Meyer had also deployed to Iraq with the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines in 2007, his father said.
The battalion was training to go back to Iraq when Meyer was asked whether he wanted to be part of the embedded training team working with Afghan forces.
"I think he had 15 minutes to decide yea or nay," his father said. "He knew that Iraq was winding down, and he jumped at the chance to go to Afghanistan."
Mike Meyer said Obama contacted his son last month while Dakota Meyer was on his lunch break from his construction job. Dakota Meyer pours concrete and drives a Bobcat, among other jobs, his father said.
In November, after word came that he had been recommended for the Medal of Honor, Dakota Meyer said he considered himself "the farthest thing from a hero."
"Of course, it would be an honor" to receive the Medal of Honor, he said at the time, "but it would be for my guys — it’s not for me."
Two living Army soldiers have received the Medal of Honor for their actions in Afghanistan. Meyer will become the first living Marine to receive the Medal of Honor since then-Staff Sgt. Allan Kellogg, a Kailua resident, was recognized for his actions in Vietnam in 1970.
Meyer enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2006. In 2010 he completed his active-duty commitment, and now serves as a sergeant in the Inactive Ready Reserve of the Marine Corps Reserve.
