Fox News has confirmed with military officials that the White House plans to award the Medal of Honor to another living recipient. This time the highest award for valor will go to Marine Cpl. Dakota Meyer for his heroic actions in Afghanistan on Sept. 8, 2009. He's credited with running into the "kill zone" to recover the bodies of 4 fallen comrades under intense fire.
"I feel the furthest thing from a hero," Meyer said in an interview with the Marine Corps Times. "I went in there to do a job and the way I viewed it is that I let those guys down."
Meyer's story is one of extreme heroism and bravery, but unlike the stories behind the only other two living medal of honor recipients from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, his does not have as much of a happy ending. Meyer and his fellow service members were able to recover the bodies of their comrades, but they were unable to save their lives.
"[T]he award would be for them and for the corps ... and for marines that didn't get recognized because there wasn't enough witnesses," Meyer added. That's what it would be for."
Meyer has since left the Marine Corps and shows signs of war fatigue. In the Marine Corps Times interview, he says it's still very difficult to talk about the events of that September day in Afghanistan.
According to military officials, the White House is upset with the Marines for leaking news of the plan to honor Meyer as typically the administration is the first to announce any Medal of Honor nominees. The White House has not said yet when the award will be presented.
Fox News Pentagon producer Justin Fishel contributed to this story.
Fox News 21 Jul, 2011
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Source: http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/07/20/president-award-medal-honor-living-marine
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