Sergeant Dakota Meyer Thesis

Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient Sergeant Dakota Meyers is an inspiration to not only marines like myself but to service members of all branches. Sergeant Meyer not only showed heroic actions in the Kunar Province, Afghanistan but, by answering the nations call when we needed service members to protect our borders from terrorism. Sergeant Meyers showed unwavering devotion to his country in the face of almost certain death by his courage and bravery, and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service. As a nation if we come together to face the problems at hand through bravery and courage we could conquer any problem we face.
Dakota Meyer was embedded with Second Battalion, Eighth Marines during September 8, 2009 when heroically rescued fallen Marines and Afghan soldiers during the Battle of Ganjgal. These Marines and soldiers were ambushed and cut off by

over fifty enemy combatants while meeting with village elders. Upon hearing over the radio of these events, Sergeant Meyer took it upon himself to get into the turret mounted onto a High Multipurposed Wheeled Vehicle, better known as a Humvee, and made several trips to rescue fallen service members. On his first two trips, down into the Province Sergeant Meyer was peppered with enemy small arms fire concentrated on his vehicle. In response, he returned fired and killed many enemy combatants while rescuing over a dozen Afghan National Army members. These actions showed Sergeant Meyers true bravery, courage and upheld the tradition of “no marine gets left behind.” Sergeant Meyers received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic actions at the Battle of Ganjgal.
I remember hearing this story of Dakota Meyer back when I was a poolee at Recruiting Substation Mentor, Ohio.

We came to the topic of Sergeant Meyer while having a guided discussion which was preparing myself and my peers for the hardships of recruit training. Being recent high school graduates, it was difficult at the time to try and process the weight of sacrifice we made to serve out country. However, like our predecessors, we were willing to do whatever it took to defend our nation. As a Marine now I am still inspired by individuals like Dakota Meyer and the numerous other Medal of Honor recipients, who were willing to or did sacrifice their lives for their country. I feel that more American people should be aware of the sacrifices that were made to keep their families safe and free from terror. Terror can be seen anywhere not just on the battlefields of faraway wars. I feel that Americans are now more than ever scared to walk their streets due to the increasing amount of racial injustice and criminal actions that citizens are performing against each

other.
Dakota Meyer actions set the tone for fellow Marines and myself. He is not only a hero with extraordinary attributes but he is a role model to the citizens in which he was willing to die for. I personally look up to him, because of how in the face of adversity he persevered and accomplished the mission that was set before him. He maintained the ideologies that drill instructors from Marine Corps Recruit Depots ingrain into every marine throughout their transformation. I believe that if the citizens of the United States band together during these current hardships our country is facing that any task could be surmounted. Whether, that is conducting protest to bring attention to racial injustice or to fight a war to protect our nation’s boarders that were once under attack. We the people need to band together despite our many differences to be one strong functional and unstoppable unit. If American citizens look at the actions of Sergeant Meyer it is apparent that one person truly can make a difference and be an example for all others to follow and be inspired by. Hero’s like Sergeant Meyer should be looked at when organizing protest or other demonstrations that can bring America together as we traverse these tumultuous next four years that loom in our countries future.