This Day in History

[besilarius]

4977   BC   The Creation, according to Kepler

399   BC   Socrates, noted hoplite, stone cutter, busy-body, executed by poison, at c. 70

1773. British Parliament passes Tea Act, leading to the Boston Tea Party

1805. With naval bombardment from USS Nautilus, USS Hornet, and USS Argus, Lt. Presley OBannon leads his Marines to attack Derne, Tripoli, and raises the first U.S. flag over foreign soil. The Battle of Derna was the Marines' first battle on foreign soil, and is notably recalled in the first verse of the Marines Hymn.

1822. Ulysses S Grant, general, 1861-1869, president 1869-1877, memoirist, d.  1885.

1937. Sgt. Maj. Daniel Joseph Daly, iconic and eloquent U.S. Marine, with two Medals of Honor, at 63.  Daniel Joseph Daly (1873-1937), known as “Dan”, was a one of those unique characters that the U.S. Marines seem to produce from time to time.
Only about 5'6" tall and weighing in at 132 pounds, Daly, a lightweight boxer in his youth, joined the Marine Corps early in 1899.  He earned a Medal of Honor during the Boxer Rebellion on August 14, 1900, single-handedly holding an isolated position in the Legation Quarter at Peking overnight against enormous odds, while inflicting hundreds of casualties on the enemy.  In 1915, Daly won a second Medal of Honor  for helping to lead 35 marines to safety when they were ambushed by about 400 insurgents near Ft. Dipitie, Haiti, on October 24, 1915.  During the fight for Belleau Wood, in France (June 5-10, 1918), Daly again turned in such an outstanding performance that he was nominated for a third Medal of Honor, which was disapproved in favor of the Navy Cross and the offer of a commission.  Daly declined the commission, saying "To be a sergeant, you have to know your stuff.  I'd rather be an outstanding sergeant than just another officer."
Now during the fighting for Belleau Wood, Gunnery Sergeant Daniel Daly is famous for supposedly leading an attack with the cry, "Come on, you sons of bitches -- do you want to live forever?"
Often asked about this, Daly denied having uttered any such vulgarity, telling one reporter "You know a non-com would never use hard language.  I said, 'For goodness sake, you chaps, let us advance against the foe'."  On another occasion, however, he said that his words were "For Christ's sake, do you want to live forever," while he later also claimed to have said "Gracious, you chaps, do you want to live forever", not to mention “For Christ's sake men—come on! Do you want to live forever?"   
Whatever it was Daly said, the sentiment has certainly been expressed before.  While serving in the 61st New York Infantry during the Seven Day’s Battles in the Spring of 1862, Nelson A. Miles (later a distinguished Indian fighter and the Commanding General of the Army during the War with Spain) heard an unknown Confederate Colonel lead an attack with the cry, "Come on! Come on! Do you want to live forever?"
In addition to his two awards of the Medal of Honor and his Navy Cross, Daly held the Distinguished Service Cross, plus the French Medaille militaire and Croix de guerre avec palm, as well as two Letters of Commendation and two Wound Stripes, which in World War II would have been a Silver Star, with bronze device in lieu of second award, and the Purple Heart, with bronze device.
Daly retired from the Marine Corps in 1929, returned to New York City, where he worked as a bank guard, never spoke about his military experiences, and died in 1937.  He is buried in Cypress Hills National Cemetery, in Brooklyn.