Man of honor will wait his turn
Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer during his service in Ganjgal Village, Kunar province, Afghanistan. Credit: U.S. Marines Photo
Marine veteran Dakota Meyer knows a thing or two about honor.
In a laudable display of fairness and principle, the Medal of Honor winner passed up a chance to fulfill his dream to become a New York City firefighter. He refused to accept any special treatment after a judge Monday extended the Sept. 19 application deadline just for him. "Unless the filing period is open to everyone, I cannot morally accept it," he said in a statement.
If anyone deserved special dispensation it was Meyer. He was awarded the nation's highest military honor for saving 36 lives in Afghanistan in 2009 when he repeatedly risked enemy fire to evacuate American and Afghan soldiers who'd been ambushed. And in the days leading up to the firefighter test deadline, Meyer was busy with Defense Department duties.
New York City officials asked District Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis -- who is overseeing the department's testing and hiring because of its history of racial exclusion -- to reopen the application period for one day for everyone. Garaufis refused, saying that would undercut the extensive effort made to recruit black and Hispanic applicants before the deadline.
But in view of Meyer's "truly exceptional military service," Garaufis opened a 24-hour window just for him, a window that closed Tuesday at 11:59 p.m.
Most people would have grabbed the opportunity, but Meyer wasn't seduced. He did the honorable thing.
