Marine Dakota Meyer gets Medal of Honor

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Dakota Meyer became the first living U.S. Marine to receive the Medal of Honor for his actions in Afghanistan in a White House ceremony Thursday.

President Obama, who had a beer with Meyer at the White House Wednesday, presented the medal and called Meyer "down to earth." Obama said when he called Meyer to notify him about the medal the Marine was hard to track down and then said he couldn't talk then because he does not get paid if he is not working and arranged to talk during his lunch break.

"Dakota is the kind of guy who gets the job done, so I appreciated, Dakota, you taking my call," Obama said with a laugh echoed in the audience.

Meyer was a Marine sergeant and one of 14 U.S. trainers working with an Afghan unit on Sept. 8, 2009, when they came under insurgent fire that pinned down four of the trainers. Meyer used a Humvee to move forward, rescuing 12 Afghan soldiers and bringing back the bodies of the four U.S. trainers.

Those at the ceremony included seven Medal of Honor winners, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who represents Meyer's home state, and Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., a U.S. Marine who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.