Cpl. Dakota Meyer

Media blitz for Dakota Meyer’s new book begins today

By Dan Lamothe on September 25, 2012 Afghanistan, Awards, Ganjgal, Medal of Honor

It has been more than a year since President Obama draped the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest valor award, around the neck of Dakota Meyer. Today, the Marine’s own account of the Sept. 8, 2009, ambush in Ganjgal, Afghanistan, that led to the award hits shelves in bookstores. “Into the Fire,” written with the help of author Bing West, recounts the botched mission in which he and several other U.S. service members risked life and limb in an attempt to recover the bodies of four fellow members of an embedded training team that had gone missing in a maelstrom…

Behind the Cover: In new book, Dakota Meyer unloads

By Dan Lamothe on August 13, 2012 Afghanistan, Awards, Behind the Cover, Ganjgal, Medal of Honor

Last week, I reported for Marine Corps Times that Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer acknowledges in his new book that he attempted to kill himself in 2010, one year after surviving the battle that led to him receiving the nation’s top valor award. The story generated a wide range of reaction from readers. Some blasted me for writing a story specifically about Meyer’s struggles, even though he chose to speak about it freely in an interview and disclosed the suicide attempt in his forthcoming book, “Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War.” Others praised…

Marine hero Dakota Meyer’s book set for September release

By Dan Lamothe on July 16, 2012 Awards, Ganjgal, Medal of Honor, Pop culture

Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer’s new book is scheduled to be released in September, three years after the devastating battle that led to his heroic actions. “Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War” will be available Sept. 25, according to its listing on Amazon.com. The 272-page book is written by Meyer and Bing West, a Marine veteran who has authored several best-selling works. It will be published by Random House, which also has it listed on its website. The cover image of the book shows Meyer in Afghanistan in 2009, wearing…

Video: Marine Corps Times interviews Dakota Meyer, Medal of Honor recipient

By Dan Lamothe on August 19, 2011 Awards, Ganjgal

GREENSBURG, Ky. — It has been a long journey. Dakota Meyer will receive the Medal of Honor on Sept. 15, two years after he braved enemy fire multiple times in Afghanistan in attempt to save fellow U.S. service members in Ganjgal, Afghanistan. He made it out of the valley alive, and they didn’t. It’s a tough situation to digest. Marine Corps Times readers know the story well by now — various aspects of it have led me to write three cover stories since early last year, including a profile on Meyer. With the White House announcement now official, however, I…

Setting the record straight on Dakota Meyer, Medal of Honor recipient-to-be

By Dan Lamothe on July 26, 2011 Awards, Ganjgal, Leadership

With the dust starting to settle, it’s time to set the record straight about Dakota Meyer, who will become the first living Marine to receive the Medal of Honor in decades. As someone who has covered the fallout of the Sept. 8, 2009, ambush in Gangjal, Afghanistan, since days after it occurred, I’ve noticed a variety of inaccuracies work their way into stories about the incident, Meyer’s service and the Medal of Honor process. Many of them cite my story last week that confirmed the award decision had been made, so it seems fair for to correct the record. Let’s…

Behind the Cover: An exclusive interview with Dakota Meyer, Medal of Honor nominee

By Dan Lamothe on November 15, 2010 Afghanistan, Behind the Cover, Ganjgal

By now, many Marine Corps Times readers have read the news that the service has recommended that a former Marine corporal receive the Medal of Honor for valor last year in eastern Afghanistan. It’s a story that we first broke last Monday online, citing a Marine source with knowledge of the awards process. It was subsequently confirmed by other Marine sources last week. The circumstances of the case should make it no surprise that former Cpl. Dakota Meyer, 22, is hesitant to discuss his actions. As we first outlined in a cover story in July, he is credited with running into…

Behind the Cover: Tragedy and heroism in Ganjgal, Afghanistan

By Dan Lamothe on July 18, 2010 Afghanistan, Behind the Cover, Ganjgal, Infantry

It’s every Marine’s worst nightmare. Your buddies are pinned down in a kill zone, taking fire from three sides. No help is on the way, and every time you try to assist them, you get turned back by the massive amount of firepower unleashed by the enemy. Cpl. Dakota Meyer found himself in this very situation Sept. 8, 2009. Caught in a battle in Ganjgal, a remote village in eastern Afghanistan, he took matter into his own hands, braving a hail of enemy fire on foot to reach his buddies. Sadly, they were dead when he found them. The battle,…

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