Dakota Louis Meyer is a retired United States Marine Corps corporal who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Ganjgal in Afghanistan in 2009.

Meyer was born on June 26, 1988, in Columbia, Kentucky. He joined the Marines in 2006 and served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. On September 8, 2009, Meyer was serving as a turret gunner and driver for a team of Marines and Afghan soldiers in the Ganjgal Valley in Afghanistan's Kunar Province.

During the mission, Meyer and his team were ambushed by a group of insurgents. Despite being wounded, Meyer repeatedly made trips into the kill zone to rescue wounded Afghan soldiers and Marines. He also provided cover fire for the other members of his team to evacuate the area.

Meyer's actions saved the lives of 36 people and enabled the recovery of the bodies of four Americans and an Afghan soldier. For his bravery, Meyer was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2011 by President Barack Obama.

Since retiring from the Marines, Meyer has become an advocate for veterans and spoken publicly about his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He has also written a book about his experiences, titled "Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War."

Check out this video documenting some of Dakota's heroic actions: