Dakota Meyer was formerly an officer in the United States Marine Corps. He received the Medal of Honor as a veteran of the Afghan War for his actions during the Battle of Ganjgal on September 8, 2009 in Kunar Province, Afghanistan.

Meyer is the second-youngest living recipient of the Medal of Honor, the third living recipient from the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan, and the first living U.S. Marine in 38 years to receive the honor.

Dakota Meyer’s beginnings

Meyer was born and raised in Columbia, Kentucky, the son of Felicia Carole Ferree “Killy” Gilliam and Michael Allen Meyer.

After graduating from Green County High School, he entered the United States Marine Corps in 2006 at a recruiting station in Louisville, Kentucky and completed boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island .

About Dakota Meyer’s First Wife, Cassandra Wain

Meyer married Cassandra Marie Wain on May 17, 2008 in Campbellsville, Kentucky. The marriage only lasted two years as the couple divorced in 2010. Unfortunately for the couple, they did not have any children while they were together as husband and wife.

Life after divorce with Cassandra Wain

After his divorce from Cassandra was finalized, Meyer proposed to Bristol Palin, the daughter of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

The Palin family announced on May 18 that the May 23 wedding had been canceled. On June 25, Palin announced her pregnancy for the second time. On December 23, she gave birth to a daughter.

Meyer was the child’s biological father, and Meyer had filed legal documents seeking joint custody of the newborn and child support from Palin.

Palin and Meyer reached a tentative agreement for joint legal and physical custody in March of that year. Palin and Meyer got married on May 23, exactly a year after they planned.

Palin announced in December that she was expecting her third child, her second with Meyer.

Meyer filed for divorce on January 29, 2018, citing a “personality conflict.” Palin confirmed that her divorce from Meyer was finalized on August 1.

Civilian life

A year after the Battle of Ganjgal, Meyer attempted suicide with a Glock pistol kept in the glove compartment of his truck after drinking at a friend’s house. The gun was not loaded. Meyer sought treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder later in life.

Meyer received the honorary title of Colonel of Kentucky in September 2011 at an event in his hometown of Greensburg, where Meyer was grand marshal.

Meyer sued his former employer, defense company BAE Systems, on the grounds that the company and his boss punished him for opposing an arms sale to Pakistan.

According to the lawsuit, BAE Systems mocked Meyer’s Medal of Honor, calling him mentally unstable and suggesting he had a drinking problem, which cost him his job.

On December 15, 2011, BAE announced that the parties had reached an amicable settlement.

On December 14, 2011, McClatchy Media published an article questioning the actual number of lives saved by Meyer.

According to the article, the reports leading to the award of the Medal of Honor are often inaccurate and, in Meyer’s case, “significant portions published by the Marine Corps were false, unfounded or exaggerated.”

Meyer competed in the fourth season of Maximum Warrior in 2013, a television competition between American military operators that featured ten military-inspired challenges.

Meyer finished fourth after being eliminated in the eighth episode, “Night Hostage Rescue”, which aired on November 26, 2013. Meyer currently serves on the advisory board of VETPAW, an American veterans’ organization dedicated to protecting African wildlife.