Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer has a strong ally in his battle to join the Fire Department — the Vulcan Society, the group of black firefighters that has sued the FDNY over its chronic lack of diversity.
“This young man deserves to be acknowledged. He … saved over 30 lives,” said John Coombs, president of the Vulcans, who have been pushing for increased minority recruitment for 10 years.
Coombs told The Post that he’d like to see the department give an extra six months’ filing time to any military personnel who, like Meyer, misses an application deadline due to his service.
“If you do it once, you’re going to have to do it again,” Coombs said. “Dakota, like any other military person serving his country, deserves this and should receive it … for doing his duty.”
Marine Sgt. Meyer, 23, was 12 hours late for the Sept. 19 cut-off to register for the upcoming entry exam in January. His lawyer, Keith Sullivan, blamed the swirl of press activities organized by the Defense Department after President Obama presented Meyer the Medal of Honor on Sept. 15.
Sullivan is slated to ask a Brooklyn judge today to order the FDNY filing period reopened for four days — giving Meyer and others more time to apply.