Dakota Meyer and the Battle of Ganjgal: The True Story Behind a Viral Medal of Honor Post

A viral social media graphic tells an extraordinary story about Marine Dakota Meyer.

According to the post, Meyer was 21 when he defied orders, entered a Taliban ambush five times, evacuated dozens of wounded troops, fought hand to hand, suffered a shrapnel wound and recovered the bodies of four fallen teammates. It concludes that he became the first living Marine in 38 years to receive the Medal of Honor.

Most of that account is grounded in a real and exceptionally well-documented act of courage.

Meyer did repeatedly enter a heavily defended ambush zone during the Battle of Ganjgal in Afghanistan on September 8, 2009. He helped evacuate wounded American and Afghan personnel, provided covering fire for others to escape, was wounded by shrapnel and ultimately helped recover the bodies of four missing American service members.

President Barack Obama presented him with the Medal of Honor on September 15, 2011. The photograph used in the graphic is authentic and shows that ceremony.

However, the viral summary also compresses a complicated six-hour battle into several dramatic phrases. One of them—“fought hand to hand”—does not appear in Meyer’s official Medal of Honor citation. The claim that he “evacuated dozens” also needs context because the official record distinguishes between people he personally evacuated and those whose escape he helped facilitate.

The correct verdict is therefore mostly true, with some dramatization and imprecise wording.

Who Is Dakota Meyer?

Dakota Louis Meyer was born on June 26, 1988, in Columbia, Kentucky. He joined the United States Marine Corps after graduating from high school in 2006 and trained as a scout sniper.

Before deploying to Afghanistan, he served in Iraq. During his second major overseas deployment, Meyer was assigned to Embedded Training Team 2-8, which worked with Afghan security forces.

On September 8, 2009, Meyer was serving as a corporal near the village of Ganjgal in Kunar province, close to Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan.

Because Meyer was born in June 1988, he was 21 years old when the battle occurred. The age given in the viral graphic is accurate.

The Mission at Ganjgal

American and Afghan personnel planned to enter Ganjgal before dawn for a meeting with village elders.

Meyer remained at a patrol rally point while members of his team accompanied Afghan National Army and Border Police units into the village.

The mission quickly deteriorated.

More than 50 insurgents attacked from fortified positions in houses and on the surrounding slopes. They used machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. The terrain gave the attackers a substantial advantage, and the combined American-Afghan force became trapped under intense fire.

Four American members of the embedded training team were cut off:

• First Lieutenant Michael Johnson

• Gunnery Sergeant Aaron Kenefick

• Gunnery Sergeant Edwin Johnson

• Navy Hospital Corpsman Third Class James Layton

Army Sergeant First Class Kenneth Westbrook was also gravely wounded during the battle and later died.

Meyer could hear radio reports from the trapped team. He and Staff Sergeant Juan Rodriguez-Chavez asked for permission to enter the ambush zone and help them.

Their request was denied.

The concern was understandable: sending another vehicle into a carefully prepared kill zone could produce more casualties without saving the trapped personnel.