Former Marine to be awarded Medal of Honor

A former Marine corporal who repeatedly braved enemy fire in attempting to rescue four comrades in Taliban-infested eastern Afghanistan has been selected to receive the Medal of Honor, the highest award given to members of the armed services, the White House announced Friday.

Dakota Meyer, a former turret gunner and scout sniper from Kentucky, is only the third living veteran of the Afghan and Iraqi conflicts to be chosen for the honor, and the first living Marine to designated for the award since 1973.

Meyer, 23, will be honored at a White House ceremony next month for “courageous actions” while serving in Afghanistan’s eastern Konar Province in Sept. 8 2009, according to a statement issued by the White House.

Meyer charged multiple times into a Taliban-held area near the eastern village of Ganjgal after learning that three fellow Marines and a Navy corpsman were missing after being attacked by a group of insurgents. Under heavy enemy fire, he located the four Americans--all of them dead--and extracted their bodies with the help of Afghan government troops.

“Sergeant Meyer embodies all that is good about our nation’s Corps of Marines,” said Gen. James F. Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps in a statement.

Read the rest here.