Bristol Palin’s ex husband Dakota Meyer receives major honor

Bristol Palin’s ex husband Dakota Meyer has been appointed the Grand Marshal for the 105th New York City Veterans Day parade. 

The Marine Veteran, 36, who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, was seen celebrating his latest honor ahead of the highly anticipated parade on Monday. 

‘Serving in uniform is by far the greatest honor that the United States of America has allowed me to do. Once we take that uniform off, becoming a Veteran is just as important,’ Dakota said. 

He previously received the Medal of Honor – the country’s highest medal for valor –  in 2011, presented to him by President Barack Obama. 

Dakota, who shares two young daughter’s with Bristol, 34, was honored for his heroic actions on September 8, 2009, where the then 21-year-old corporal decided to drive into the ‘killing zone’ in the village of Ganjgal, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan to save U.S. and Afghan allied troops. 

After hearing that Taliban soldiers had trapped his fellow men, Dakota, who was wounded by shrapnel at the time, decided to defy orders to save others that day. 

Dakota, who shares two young daughter’s with Bristol, was honored for his heroic actions on September 8, 2009, where he saved dozens of soldiers under attack in the village of Ganjgal, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. (Pictured: Dakota with Bristol, his two daughters and step-son)

‘I wasn’t really thinking I could die, it was just a matter of when. I never thought I was going to come out… that’s just what Marines do,’ Dakota recalled. 

Over the course of six hours, and five successive missions later, the Kentucky native and Staff Sgt. Juan Rodriguez-Chavez saved dozens of American and Afghan troops.

During his rescue mission, Dakota and Rodriguez-Chavez continually went in and out of the battle zone to save as many as they could. 

At the time, one of his Humvee machine guns stopped working, leading him to direct Rodriguez-Chavez to head back to swap out vehicles so they could continue to fight. 

On their third trip back to the ambush area, Dakota discovered the bodies of four missing men from his unit, and was able to return them to a safe area so they could properly be extracted, ABC 7 reported. 

The father-of-two then went back in two more times, disregarding his own injury to arm, with help from others. 

‘They were defying orders, but they were doing what they thought was right,’ Obama said at Dakota’s Medal of Honor ceremony. 

He previously received the Medal of Honor, the country’s highest medal for valor, in 2011, presented to him by President Barack Obama

‘Those who were there called it the most intense combat they’d ever seen. 

‘Dakota and Juan would have been forgiven for not going back in. But as Dakota says, you don’t leave anyone behind,’ the 44th president said. 

Obama told Dakota that because of his determination, ’36 men are alive today.’ 

‘Because of your courage, four fallen American heroes came home, and in the words of James Layton’s mom, [their families] could lay their sons to rest with dignity,’ Obama added, referring to the four deceased soldiers Dakota found during the mission. 

Dakota told the former president that he accepted the award in honor of the late troops. 

Marine Corps 1st Lt. Michael Johnson, Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Edwin Johnson, Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Aaron Kenefick, Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class James Layton, a medic, all lost their lives that day. 

Army Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Westbrook also died after he was wounded in the ambush, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. 

Dakota is the first living American to be awarded the Medal of Honor for what he did in Afghanistan and Iraq. Just two other Marines were received the award

Dakota is the first living American to be awarded the Medal of Honor for what he did in Afghanistan and Iraq. Just two other Marines received the award. 

Rodriquez-Chavez, who assisted Dakota on the violent mission, received the Navy Cross for his hard work that day. 

Dakota left the Marine Corps in June 2010, and went on to take on a job at a construction site, and worked for the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

In 2018, Dakota filed for divorce from Bristol Palin, the daughter of the former Governor of Alaska and 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. 

They met in May 2014 during filming of Sarah Palin’s Sportsman Channel show Amazing America.  

The couple were married in a private ceremony back in 2016, a little over a year after calling off their first wedding just days before the ceremony. 

Dakota and Bristol met in May 2014 during her mother, Sarah Palin’s Sportsman Channel show Amazing America. He filed for divorce from the Teen Mom star in 2018 

They share two daughters with each other, Sailor, eight, and Atlee, seven. 

The couple had planned to wed over Memorial Day Weekend in Dakota’s home state of Kentucky back in 2015, but the wedding was called off at the last second.

That December, Bristol gave birth to the couple’s daughter Sailor Grace.

Six months after she announced her birth, Bristol and Dakota surprised everyone by revealing they were married.

Dakota had first revealed he and Bristol were back together just days prior with a photo he posted on Facebook and Instagram, which showed his former fiancé wearing a diamond ring.

Bristol, who appeared on the reality show Teen Mom, also has a son named Tripp, 15, who she shares with her ex-fiancé Levi Johnston, 34.

They share two daughters with each other, Sailor, eight, and Atlee, seven. (Pictured: An undated image of the family in a hospital room after Atlee’s birth) 

In August of this year, Bristol expressed her heartbreak over her son’s decision to leave her family home in Texas to live with his father in Alaska. 

At the time, the Wasilla, Alaska native posted an image of her younger two daughters in an Instagram post, with text explaining how she’s dealing with Tripp’s move. 

‘This has been the hardest “first day of school“ yet with one of the biggest pieces of my heart missing,’ Bristol said. ‘Tripp has decided to finish out high school in Alaska to be closer to his dad and our entire family.

‘If you know Tripp, you know he lives for hunting/fishing and I honestly can’t blame him for wanting to be back home.’

‘As hard as it has been to come to this decision – it’s truly not about what I want,’ Bristol said.

Bristol cited her son growing older and the value of him spending time with his father in explaining how she’s handling the family issue.

‘He’s almost 16 years old and that relationship with his dad is a lot more important than my own selfish desires of having him with his mama forever!’ Bristol said.