Obama to Present Marine With Medal of Honor in September, White House Announces

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Medal of Honor Goes to Third Living Recipient

President Obama will award Marine Cpl. Dakota Meyer for heroism in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON -- President Obama will present the Medal of Honor to Kentucky-native Dakota Meyer, who will be the third living person and the first Marine to receive the commendation for actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, the White House announced Friday.

Meyer, a former active-duty Marine Corps corporal, will receive the Medal of Honor on Sept. 15 for his courageous actions while serving in Afghanistan in 2009, the White House said.

Meyer, 23, enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 2006 and served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the Marine Corps Times, Meyer repeatedly braved enemy fire while trying to save fellow members of his embedded training team during an attack in eastern Afghanistan.

His other military decorations include a Purple Heart.

According to the White House statement, the requirements for a Medal of Honor "must involve great personal bravery or self-sacrifice so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the individual above his or her comrades and must have involved risk of life."

"I feel the furthest thing from a hero," Meyer said in a past interview with the Marine Corps Times. "I went in there to do a job and the way I viewed it is that I let those guys down."

Meyer's story is one of extreme heroism and bravery, but unlike the stories behind the only other two living medal of honor recipients from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, his does not have as much of a happy ending. Meyer and his fellow service members were able to recover the bodies of their comrades, but they were unable to save their lives.

"The award would be for them and for the corps ... and for marines that didn't get recognized because there wasn't enough witnesses," Meyer added. That's what it would be for."

Meyer completed his active duty commitment in 2010 and now serves in the Marine Corps Inactive Ready Reserve as a sergeant. In the Marine Corps Times interview, he says it's still very difficult to talk about the events of that September day in Afghanistan. He will attend the White House ceremony with his family

News that Meyer would receive the Medal of Honor was leaked to the media last month, causing some frustration in the White House, which typically is the first to announce such honors.

NewsCore contributed to this report.