Original Items: Only One Available. This is a lovely little framed display consisting of newspaper articles, a Western Union telegram announcing the death of Dan Daly, USMC Collar Discs and a 4,000 block series WWII numbered Distinguished Service Cross. This was most likely put together and framed sometime in the 1960s-80s given the appearance of the frame.

Daniel Joseph Daly was a United States Marine and one of nineteen U.S. servicemen to have been awarded the Medal of Honor twice. He earned his first Medal of Honor during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, and the second in Haiti in 1915. Daly and Major General Smedley Butler are the only Marines who earned two Medals of Honor in two separate actions.

In World War I, Daly became further entrenched in Marine Corps lore when he is said to have yelled, "Come on, you sons of bit**es, do you want to live forever?" to his company before charging the Germans at the Battle of Belleau Wood. Butler described Daly as "the fightingest Marine I ever knew...It was an object lesson to have served with him."

Daly's Medals of Honor are on display at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia, which also features the "live forever" quote etched in the stone of the building's rotunda.

The main feature of this framed assortment would have to be the Daniel Daly signature that appears to have been from a military document. The signature looks old and original, but due to lack of surviving examples of his signature it is difficult for comparison purposes but it is our belief it is authentic. Right next to the signature is a lovely set of WWI era USMC Eagle, Globe and Anchor collar discs with nearly all blackening retained.

Paired with the frame is a Distinguished Service Cross with the number 4720 present on the lower right. This number coincides with being made by the U.S. Mint with a wrap brooch. The 4,000 block of numbers like this one were used for WWII. The condition is nice though worn.

Distinguished Service Cross
Awarded for actions during the World War I

General Orders: War Department, General Orders No. 101 (1918)
Action Date: June 5, 7, & 10, 1918
Service: Marine Corps
Rank: First Sergeant
Company: 73d Company
Regiment: 6th Regiment (Marines)
Division: 2d Division, American Expeditionary Forces

Citation:
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to First Sergeant Daniel Joseph Daly (MCSN: 73086), United States Marine Corps, for repeated deeds of heroism and great service while serving with the Seventy-Third Company, Sixth Regiment (Marines), 2d Division, A.E.F., on 5 June and 7, 1918 at Lucy-le-Bocage, and on 10 June 1918 in the attack on Bouresches, France. On June 5th, at the risk of his life, First Sergeant Daly extinguished a fire in an ammunition dump at Lucy-le-Bocage. On 7 June 1918, while his position was under violent bombardment, he visited all the gun crews of his company, then posted over a wide portion of the front, to cheer his men. On 10 June 1918, he attacked an enemy machine-gun emplacement unassisted and captured it by use of hand grenades and his automatic pistol. On the same day, during the German attack on Bouresches, he brought in wounded under fire.

A lovely framed grouping ready for further research and display.

Military career
Early career

Daly enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on January 10, 1899, at the age of 25. His first posting was with the Asiatic Fleet aboard the cruiser USS Newark. In 1900, the fleet arrived in China during the Boxer Rebellion. On July 15, 1900, Private Daly and his commanding officer, Captain Newt H. Hall, set out to reconnoiter a position while under siege by the Boxers. A working party, scheduled to follow to construct defenses, never arrived. While Captain Hall returned for the working party, Daly single-handedly fought off a furious Boxer attack on the position, an action which earned him his first Medal of Honor.

After serving in China, Daly saw duty on various ships in the Pacific and Caribbean areas, and saw action in the Philippines and the Banana Wars. He also trained recruits, gained a reputation as an excellent boxer, and rose to the rank of gunnery sergeant. On March 14, 1911, Daly was aboard the USS Springfield when he spotted a gasoline fire that was spreading toward the ship's magazine. He successfully extinguished the fire, ensuring the safety of the ship's 500 crewmen, but spent several weeks hospitalized with severe burns. Daly received commendations from both the Secretary of the Navy and the Commandant of the Marine Corps for his actions.

Daly earned his second Medal of Honor in Haiti with the U.S. Marines supporting the Haitian government in a fight against Cacos insurgents. On the night of October 24, 1915, during the Battle of Fort Dipitie, Gunnery Sergeant Daly was on patrol with a detachment of three squads of the 15th Company, 2nd Marine Regiment, under the command of Major Smedley Butler. The Marines were ambushed by a force of some 400 Cacos while crossing a river, and the horse carrying their machine gun was killed, its carcass sinking to the riverbed. With the battle raging throughout the night, Daly repeatedly dove to the bottom of the river until he located the horse, freed the machine gun from its restraints, and carried the 200 pounds (91 kg) of weaponry a mile back to the Marines' position. Later, rearmed and with Daly in command of one of the squads, the Marines regrouped and scattered the Cacos.

World War I

Daly's service in World War I began November 4, 1917, initially fighting in Toulon and Aisne. During the Battle of Belleau Wood in June 1918, Daly served as the first sergeant of 73rd Company, 6th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Brigade, attached to the U.S. Army's 2nd Infantry Division. On June 1, the regiment was placed in a gap in the line left by the French 43rd Division, with the intent to stop the German advance toward Paris. The Marines drove back an attack by the German 28th Division on June 2. On June 5, a German shell landed in an ammunition dump at Lucy-le-Bocage, starting a fire. Daly quickly led a party from his company into the flames to extinguish the blaze, preventing the arsenal from exploding.

On June 6, the Marines went on the offensive. The Germans were entrenched in the woods, separated from the Marines by 400 yards (370 m) of open wheat field. Facing 1,200 Germans with 200 machine guns, the 73rd Company was pinned down by intense fire. As the Marines took cover at nightfall, Daly walked openly to each of his machine gun positions, rallying and coordinating his men. On June 10, a German machine gun unit advanced close to Daly's position. Daly immediately charged the weapon, destroying it with three grenades, shot the unit's commanding officer with his .45 caliber pistol, and took its remaining 14 soldiers prisoner. As the battle raged later in the day, Daly exposed himself to enemy fire while evacuating the wounded. For his actions from June 5–10, Daly was awarded the Navy Cross, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the French Médaille militaire.

Daly's final campaign was the Meuse–Argonne offensive. By the war's end, he had suffered a bullet wound in the shoulder and two shrapnel wounds in the leg. Daly left active duty for the United States Marine Corps Reserve in 1919, and officially retired on February 6, 1929, at the rank of sergeant major.