Dakota Meyer was once an officer in the United States Marine Corps. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Ganjgal on September 8, 2009, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, as a veteran of the Afghan War.
Meyer is the second-youngest living Medal of Honor recipient, the third living recipient for either the Iraq or Afghanistan Wars, and the first living United States Marine to be so honored in 38 years.
Dakota Meyer Early Life
Meyer was born in Columbia, Kentucky, and raised there as the son of Felicia Carole Ferree “Killy” Gilliam and Michael Allen Meyer.
He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 2006, after graduating from Green County High School, at a recruiting station in Louisville, Kentucky, and completed boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.
About Dakota Meyer First Wife, Cassandra Wain
Meyer married Cassandra Marie Wain in Campbellsville, Kentucky, on May 17, 2008. The marriage only lasted for two years as the couple got divorced in the year 2010. Unfortunately for the couple, they had no child during the time that they were together as husband and wife.
Life After Divorce with Cassandra Wain
After the divorce with 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. Palin announced her pregnancy for the second time on June 25. On December 23, she gave birth to a daughter.
Meyer was the biological father of the child, and Meyer had filed legal documents requesting joint legal and physical custody of the newborn as well as child support from Palin.
Palin and Meyer reached an interim joint legal and physical custody agreement in March of that year. Palin and Meyer married on May 23, exactly one year after they were supposed to.
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 “conflict of personalities.” Palin confirmed her divorce from Meyer was finalized on August 1.
Civilian Life
Meyer attempted suicide with a Glock pistol kept in his truck’s glove compartment a year after the Battle of Ganjgal, after drinking at a friend’s house. The firearm was not loaded. Meyer sought treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder later in life.
Meyer received the honorary title of Kentucky Colonel in September 2011 during an event in his hometown of Greensburg, for which Meyer served as grand marshal.
Meyer sued his former employer, defense contractor BAE Systems, alleging that the company and his supervisor punished him for opposing a weapons sale to Pakistan.
According to the lawsuit, BAE Systems mocked Meyer’s Medal of Honor, labeled him mentally unstable, and implied he had a drinking problem, costing him his job.
On December 15, 2011, BAE announced that the parties had reached an out-of-court settlement.
On December 14, 2011, McClatchy news outlets published an article questioning Meyer’s actual number of saved lives.
According to the article, accounts leading to the Medal of Honor awards are frequently inaccurate, and in Meyer’s case, “crucial parts that the Marine Corps publicized were untrue, unsubstantiated, or exaggerated.”
Meyer competed in the fourth season of Maximum Warrior, a TV competition among US-military operators that featured ten military-inspired challenges, in 2013.
Meyer finished fourth after being eliminated on the eighth episode, “Night Hostage Rescue,” which aired on November 26, 2013. Meyer currently serves on the advisory board of VETPAW, an organization of US military veterans dedicated to the conservation of African wildlife.
Source: www.ghgossip.com
