Sponsored by the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation.
A conversation between Medal of Honor recipient Sergeant Dakota Meyer and noted author Bing West about Meyer's experience in the battle of Ganjigal. For his combat actions, Sgt. Meyer became the first living Marine in three decades to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
Into The Fire, explores Meyer's experience on the chaotic battle of Ganjigal in a compelling, human way that reveals it as a microcosm of our recent wars. For his combat actions, Sgt. Meyer became the first living Marine in three decades to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
Dakota Meyer was born and raised in Columbia, Kentucky, and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 2006. A school-trained sniper and highly skilled infantryman, Corporal Meyer deployed to Iraq in 2007 and to Afghanistan in 2009. In 2011, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his unyielding courage in the battle of Ganjigal. He now competes at charity events in skeet and rifle competitions. He also speaks frequently at schools and veteran events to raise awareness of our military and remains dedicated to the causes of our veterans. For the families of fallen troops, he has more than raised one million dollars.
Bing West, a Marine combat veteran, served as assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration. He has been on hundreds of patrols in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. A nationally-acclaimed war correspondent, he is the author of The Village -- a Combined Action Platoon in Vietnam; No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle of Fallujah; The Strongest Tribe: War, Politics, and the Endgame in Iraq; and The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy, and the Way Out of Afghanistan. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, West has received the Marine Corps Heritage Award, the Colby Award for Military Non-fiction, the Veterans of Foreign Wars News Media Award and the Marine Corps Russell Award for Leadership. He lives with his wife Betsy in Newport, Rhode Island.