Sergeant Major Daniel "Dan" Joseph Daly was once acclaimed by MajGen John A. Lejeune, former Commandant of the Marine Corps, as "the outstanding Marine of all time." MajGen Smedley D. Butler called him "The fightinest Marine I ever knew," and wrote that "it was an object lesson to have served with "him."
This kind of praise was generally expressed by Marine officers and enlisted men alike and, according to the record, Dan Daly deserved it.

Sergeant Major Daly and MajGen Butler are the only Marines who have ever received the Nation's highest military award-the Medal of Honor-twice for separate acts of heroism.

A small man (five feet, six inches in height and weighing only 132 pounds), SgtMaj Daly nevertheless was a fine military figure, erect and well-proportioned. His keen gray eyes looked upon danger without fear. Although a "natural" for publicity, he disdained it and disliked all the fuss made over him. He termed medals "a lot of foolishness." Personally he enjoyed a pipe, crammed with cut plug tobacco, but did not drink.

He was a strict disciplinarian, yet fair-minded and very popular among both officers and enlisted men. He was noted not only for his reckless daring, but also for his constant attention to the needs of his men. Offered a commission on several occasions, he is said to have declined on the grounds that he would rather be "an outstanding sergeant than just another officer."

Sergeant Major Daly is perhaps best remembered for a famous battle cry delivered during the desperate fighting in Belleau Wood in June 1918. Marines took a terrific pounding on the outskirts of Lucy le Bocage ("Lucy Birdcage" to the American Expeditionary Forces) at the fringe of Belleau Wood. They were outnumbered, outgunned, and pinned down. 1stSgt Daly ordered an attack. Leaping forward, he yelled to his tired men, "Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?"

Very little is known about his early life other than the fact of his birth in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, on 11 November 1873, and the fact that he was a newsboy and something of a fighter for his weight and size.

With the hope of getting into the Spanish-American War, he enlisted in the Marine Corps on 10 January 1899. But he didn't make it. Before he had finished boot-camp training, the war had collapsed and he was ordered aboard ship and sent to the Asiatic Fleet.

In May 1900, he deployed aboard the USS Newark for Taku Bay, China, where he landed with other Marines enroute for Peking. The U.S. Marines and German forces had been stationed on Tartar Wall, south of the American Legation, but intense enemy fire had driven them from the position. With Capt Newt Hall, Pvt Daly mounted the wall bastion, bayoneted rifle in hand. On 14 August, Capt Hall left to bring up reinforcements and Pvt Daly remained to defend the position single-handed. Chinese snipers fired at him and stormed the bastion, but he fought them off until reinforcements arrived. For this gallantry he was awarded his first Medal of Honor.

Fifteen years later, in action against Haitian bandits, GySgt Daly earned the rare distinction being awarded a second Medal of Honor.

His service was varied and included sea duty aboard the USS Newark, Panther, Cleveland, Marietta, Mississippi, Ohio, and Machias. In addition to combat in China, Haiti and France, he served in Panama, Cuba, Mexico and Puerto Rico, and on eight United States posts.

During World War I, he served from 4 November 1917 to 21 April 1919, participating in combat in the Toulon Sector (March-May 1918); Aisne Operations (June 1918); and the Chateau-Thierry Sector (Belleau Wood, June 1918). During this operation, on 5 June and at the risk of his life, he extinguished a fire in the ammunition dump at Lucy le Bocage. Two days later, while the same sector was under one of its heaviest bombardments, he visited all machine gun crews of his company, then posted over a wide section of the front, cheering his men. On 10 June, he single-handedly attacked an enemy machine gun emplacement, capturing it by the use of hand grenades and an automatic pistol. On the same date, during an enemy attack on the village of Bouresches, he brought in wounded under heavy fire.

He also served in the St. Mihiel Offensive (September 1918) and the Champagne Offensive (Blanc Mont, September-October 1918). He was wounded in action on 21 June and twice on 8 October 1918. He then served with the American Army of Occupation in Germany following the Armistice, which he considered "not a bad birthday present."

A complete list of SgtMaj Daniel Daly's decorations and medals includes two Medals of Honor; Navy Cross; Distinguished Service Cross; three Letters of Commendation; Good Conduct Medal with two bronze stars; China Relief Expedition Medal; Philippine Campaign Medal; Expeditionary Medal with one bronze star; Mexican Service Medal; Haitian Campaign Medal; World War I Victory Medal with Aisne, St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne and Defensive-Sector clasps; Medaille Militaire; Croix de Guerre with Palm; and the Fourragere (the last three awards from the French government).

Sergeant Major Daly remained unmarried all his life. In 1919 he was reported as saying, "I can't see how a single man could spend his time to better advantage than in the Marines." Soon thereafter he was placed on the retainer list of the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve, awaiting retirement. He took a job as a bank guard on Wall Street, New York City, and held the position 17 years.

Retired officially on 6 February 1929, SgtMaj Dan Daly died at Glendale, Long Island, New York, 28 April 1937. His remains were buried in Cypress Hills.

Today a destroyer bears SgtMaj Daly's name. His record as a fighting man remains unequalled in the annals of Marine Corps history.

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Presley Neville O'Bannon later known as the "Hero of Derne," was born in 1776, in Fauquier County, Virginia. He was appointed a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps, 18 January 1801, and was promoted to first lieutenant on 15 October 1802. After serving at various stations in the United States, O'Bannon was assigned to duty on board the USS Adams early in 1802, and sailed for the Mediterranean in June of that year. He returned to the U.S. in November 1803, and was assigned duty at the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. He again sailed for the Mediterranean on the USS President on 25 May 1804, arriving at Gilbraltar, 13 August 1804. He was transferred to the USS Constitution on 22 October 1804, and to the USS Argus on 26 October 1804. While serving as Marine officer in the latter vessel he was selected for a special mission, which was destined to be commemorated on the colors of the Marine Corps and forever recorded in the Marines' Hymn in the words "To the Shores of Tripoli."

For many years the United States had maintained peace with the Barbary States (Algiers, Morocco, Tunis, and Tripoli) by "buying" treaties and paying tribute to the reigning pasha. Although Algiers, Morocco and Tunis were not entirely satisfied, they were more or less complacent, whereas Tripoli continued to make threats against the United States while demanding larger and more frequent "payments." Finally, on 14 May 1801, the Pasha of Tripoli, Yusut Karamanli, indicated his extreme dissatisfaction with our "tribute" by having the flagstaff cut down in front of the U.S. Consulate. This act led to a declaration of war against Tripoli and the sending of more U.S. war vessels to the Mediterranean. During a storm one of the ships, the USS Philadelphia, went on the rocks off Tripoli and her crew was captured and imprisoned at Derne. After a bombardment of Tripoli by U.S. vessels and the offer of $100,000 ransom for the crew of the Philadelphia had failed to move the Pasha, William Eaton, "Navy Agent for the several Barbary Regencies," suggested forming an alliance with Hamet, elder brother of the reigning sovereign of Tripoli. The plan was approved by the U.S. Government and Eaton commenced putting his plan into execution.

On 29 November 1804, Eaton, First Lieutenant O'Bannon, Midshipmen George Mann, U.S. Navy, and seven Marines landed at Alexandria, Egypt, from the USS Argus, and a few days later proceeded to Cairo. The party arrived at Cairo on 8 January 1805, where they learned that Hamet and a few Tripolitans had joined a band of rebellious Mamelukes who were defying the rule of the Turkish viceroy. Eaton then pushed on to Fiaum where he communicated with Hamet and made arrangements with him for his cooperation with the expedition against Derne, Tripoli. On 8 March, Eaton and his motley army of about 500 men, 100 camels and a few mules started the long march across the Libyan desert. He arrived at Derne the night of 25 March, and the next day, under a flag of truce, offered terms of amity to the Governor of Derne on condition of allegiance and fidelity to Hamet. The reply to this offer was "My head or yours." Shortly thereafter, the USS Nautilus arrived in the harbor of Derne, and the next day the USS Argus and Hornet dropped anchor nearby. When the combined land-sea attack commenced on 27 March, Lieutenant O'Bannon, with his Marines, a few Greeks, and as many of the cannoniers as could be spared from the field piece, passed through a shower of enemy musketry, took possession of one of the enemy's batteries, planted the United States flag upon its ramparts and turned the guns upon the enemy. After two hours of hand-to-hand fighting, the stronghold was occupied and for the first time in history the flag of the United States flew over a fortress of the old world.

The Tripolitans counterattacked the fortress a number of times, but were repulsed with heavy losses. Finally, on 28 May, Eaton's forces launched a spirited bayonet charge which drove the enemy from the vicinity of Derne. For many years, memories of the dauntless Americans lingered in the songs of the women of Derne, one of which featured these words: "Din din Mohamed U Ryas Melekan manhandi," which means "Mohamed for religion and the Americans for stubbornness."

Before they parted, Hamet gave O'Bannon a jeweled sword with a Mameluke hilt which he had carried while with the Mamelukes in Egypt. Upon his return to the United States the state of Virginia presented O'Bannon a sword modeled after the original Mameluke blade given him by Hamet. The sword bore on one side of the blade the inscription: "Presented by the State of Virginia to her gallant son Priestly (sic) N. O'Bannon." On the reverse side was inscribed: "Assault the conquest of the City of Derne in Africa, 27 April 1805." Underneath the eagle's head on the hilt is a gold plate depicting Lieutenant O'Bannon holding in one hand the National Colors of the United States and in the other a sword. He is standing on the walls of the fortress of Derne with the city of Derne in the background. The blade of this sword, a true scimitar, has more curve than the modified blade adopted for the U.S. Marine Corps officers' swords, which continues to be a part of their uniform although now worn only on special occasions.

O'Bannon resigned from the Marine Corps, 6 March 1807, and went to Kentucky to live his remaining days. When he died on 12 September 1850, at the age of 74, his remains were interred in a small cemetery north of Pleasureville, Kentucky. On 14 June 1920, the Daughters of the American Revolution removed his remains to Frankfort, Kentucky, where a memorial was erected to his memory. His heroic service on the "the shores of Tripoli" is commemorated in the Mameluke sword worn by U.S. Marine Corps officers, a sword patterned after the famed blade of Damascus presented to O'Bannon by Hamet in appreciation for services rendered on "the shores of Tripoli."

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Franklin Runyon Sousley, participant in the famous flag raising on Iwo Jima, was born at Flemingsburg, Kentucky, on 19 September 1925. After his graduation from high school in June 1943, he moved to Dayton, Ohio, where he secured a job with the Frigidaire Division of General Motors.

Sousley entered the Marine Corps Reserve on 5 January 1944 through the Selective Service System and was sent to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, for his boot training. Upon completion of recruit training, he was assigned to Company E, 2d Battalion, 28th Marines, of the 5th Marine Division, then at Camp Pendleton, California. Private Sousley joined the company on 15 March as an automatic rifleman and remained with the same unit in the same specialty until he met his death. In September, Private Sousley sailed with his company from San Diego for Hilo, Hawaii, where it arrived on 24 September. The young Marine was promoted to private first class on 22 November 1944.

In the latter part of January 1945, after extensive training and maneuvers, Sousley sailed for Iwo Jima where he landed with his company on D-day, 19 February. Sousley survived the battle for Suribachi and moved northward with his regiment. On 21 March, Private First Class Sousley was killed during the fighting around Kitano Point.

Private First Class Sousley was buried in the 5th Marine Division Cemetery at Iwo Jima in Plot 9, Row 7, Grave 2189. On 22 March 1948, a request was made to return the remains to the United States for reinterment in the Elizaville, Kentucky, Cemetery.

Private First Class Sousley was awarded the following decorations and medals; Purple Heart (posthumously), Presidential Unit Citation with one star (for Iwo Jima), Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one star (for Iwo Jima), and World War II Victory Medal.

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