1. Dakota Louis Meyer was born on June 26,1988 and is a current United States Marine.
23 Facts About Dakota Meyer
2.
Dakota Meyer was born and grew up in Columbia, Kentucky, the son of Felicia Carole Ferree "Killy" Gilliam and Michael Allen Dakota Meyer.
3.
In 2006, Dakota Meyer graduated from Green County High School.
4.
Dakota Meyer deployed to Fallujah, Iraq in 2007 as a scout sniper with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines.
5.
On September 8,2009, near the village of Ganjgal, Dakota Meyer was told that three Marines and a Navy Corpsman, who were members of Dakota Meyer's squad as well as his friends, were missing after being ambushed by a group of insurgents.
6.
Under enemy fire, Dakota Meyer entered an area known to be inhabited by insurgents and eventually found the four missing servicemen dead and stripped of their weapons, body armor, and radios.
7.
Two days later, Marine Corps Times, an independent newspaper covering Marine Corps operations, reported that the unnamed person was Dakota Meyer, citing anonymous sources.
8.
When President Obama's staff called Dakota Meyer to set up a time for the president to inform him that he would be given the Medal of Honor, they were told Dakota Meyer was working at his construction job and were asked to call again during his lunch break.
9.
Dakota Meyer was awarded the Medal of Honor in a ceremony on September 15,2011.
10.
Dakota Meyer received an invitation to the White House to meet Obama in the afternoon before the ceremony.
11.
Dakota Meyer requested that when he was honored, simultaneous commemorative services should be held at other associated locations to honor the memory of his colleagues who died or were mortally wounded during the ambush and his rescue attempts.
12.
Dakota Meyer is currently the only Medal of Honor recipient serving in any reserve or National Guard branch.
13.
Dakota Meyer filed a lawsuit against his former employer, defense contractor BAE Systems, alleging the company and his supervisor punished him for his opposition to a weapons sale to Pakistan.
14.
In 2013, Dakota Meyer participated in the fourth season of Maximum Warrior, a TV competition among US-military operators, featuring ten military-inspired challenges.
15.
Dakota Meyer, eliminated on the eighth episode, "Night Hostage Rescue", airing November 26,2013, finished in fourth place.
16.
Dakota Meyer is a proponent of legalizing the medical use of cannabis, which he says can help veterans suffering from PTSD while reducing usage of opioid drugs.
17.
In March 2018, Dakota Meyer co-authored an op-ed calling for medical cannabis to be legalized in Kentucky.
18.
Dakota Meyer married Cassandra Marie Wain on May 17,2008, in Campbellsville, Kentucky.
19.
Dakota Meyer is the daughter of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
20.
On January 6,2016, People reported that Dakota Meyer was the biological father of the child, and that Dakota Meyer had filed legal documents asking for joint legal and physical custody of the newborn and child support from Bristol Palin.
21.
On January 29,2018, Dakota Meyer filed for divorce, citing a "conflict of personalities".
22.
Corporal Dakota Meyer maintained security at a patrol rally point while other members of his team moved on foot with two platoons of Afghan National Army and Border Police into the village of Ganjgal for a pre-dawn meeting with village elders.
23.
Dakota Meyer's daring initiative and bold fighting spirit throughout the 6-hour battle significantly disrupted the enemy's attack and inspired the members of the combined force to fight on.