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Extreme bravery, reluctant hero

Extreme bravery, reluctant hero 03:26

As National Security Correspondent for CBS News, David Martin has spent decades reporting about the U.S. military, covering virtually every major defense, intelligence, and international affairs story.

Which is why Martin immediately knew there was something special about Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer when he interviewed him for a piece that aired in September on "60 Minutes."

"There are people out there who, because of their upbringing, because of their DNA, are just natural-born warriors," Martin said. "And Dakota's one of them."

An avid hunter from Columbia, Kentucky, Meyer says he can hit a squirrel at 800 yards-- which might be why the Marines made him a sniper.

But it wasn't marksmanship that earned Meyer his Medal of Honor. In September 2009, when his unit was caught in a deadly Taliban ambush in Afghanistan, Meyer repeatedly ran through enemy fire to rescue soldiers trapped in the killing zone.

For such heroism, President Obama awarded Dakota Meyer the highest military honor in the nation. Yet in this Overtime piece, you'll see that Meyer doesn't feel he did anything special.

Salvatore Giunta, also a Medal of Honor recipient, said the same thing to Lara Logan in 2010 when she interviewed him about his own heroics in another deadly battle in Afghanistan.

Why don't these men think of themselves as heroes? David Martin explains on "60 Minutes Overtime."

UPDATE: Dakota Meyer retired from the Marine Corps in 2010. He currently lives on his family farm in Kentucky and spends his time speaking to groups about his experiences.

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