Medal of Honor recipient visits Aviano

by Airman 1st Class Ryan Conroy
31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

12/30/2013 - AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy -- U.S. Medal of Honor recipient, Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer, spoke to Aviano members on the last leg on his tour of overseas and deployed bases, Dec. 30, here.

Meyer received the military's highest honor, Sept. 15, 2011, for personally evacuating 12 friendly wounded and providing cover for another 24 Marines and soldiers to escape likely death at the hands of a numerically superior and determined foe.

With Meyer's reflection upon his multiple deployments, he brought a message of inspiration and encouragement to Aviano Airmen.

"I'm a ground guy and I want to thank each and every one of you in attendance, on behalf of all of us ground guys, for your support," said Meyer, who was a scout sniper. "Airpower is the reason I'm standing here today. I can recall several situations in combat where I would have died without you guys."

During a question and answer portion of his visit, the youngest living Medal of Honor recipient spoke on his disregard of an order, which ultimately led to his fearless actions that day. Rather than staying at a relatively safe distance from an intense fire-fight, in which U.S. Army soldiers, and Afghan soldiers had been caught in an ambush -- which he had been ordered to do -- Meyer repeatedly went in and out of the killing zone to save his comrades.

Due to the events that took place that fateful day, Meyer stressed the importance of a healthy professional relationship between junior and senior service members.

"If you're a leader, never stop listening to the lower ranks," said Meyer. "The day that you decide your young troops don't have a voice is the day you need to hang up your uniform. If you're a young service member, don't be afraid to voice your opinion. With that being said, never bring up a problem if you can't think of a solution."

In addition to his views of leadership, Meyer spoke on the camaraderie between service members and lauded those in attendance on their continuous volunteerism.

"I was willing to die for the idea of 'Never leave a man behind,'" said Meyer. "We have brotherhood etched deep down in our hearts that we can't turn off. This is the first time a 13-year war has been fought with a purely volunteer force. All of you are to thank for that."