Chesty Puller
Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller | |
|---|---|
 Chesty Puller | |
| Nickname(s) | "Chesty" |
| Allegiance | USMC |
| Years of service | 1918-1955 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Unit | 1st Marine Division |
| Commands | 2nd Battalion 4th Marines 1st Battalion 7th Marines 1st Marine Regiment |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Guadalcanal Battle of Cape Gloucester Battle of Peleliu Battle of Inchon Battle of Chosin Reservoir |
| Awards | Navy Cross (5) Distinguished Service Cross Silver Star Legion of Merit Bronze Star Purple Heart |
Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller (June 26, 1898 – October 11, 1971) was a United States Marine mustang officer, notable as the most decorated Marine in history.
Early life, through World War I
Puller, whose nickname was inspired by his barrel chest, was born in West Point, Virginia. He was a distant relative of U.S. Army General George S. Patton.
He resigned from the Virginia Military Institute after his freshman year to enlist as a Private in the Marine Corps in August 1918 (serial number 135517). American involvement in World War I was intensifying at the time; his reasoning for his enlistment is summed up in the (possibly apocryphal) quote, "I want to go where the guns are."
Puller was unable to reach an overseas theater during the First World War, but remained on duty with the Marine Corps for the next 37 years.
Interwar years
He was appointed to the rank of Second Lieutenant in the reserves on June 16, 1919, but reduction in force following the war led to his being put on inactive status on the 26th of that month.
Puller re-enlisted in the Marine Corps the same year. As an enlisted man, he saw action in Haiti with the Gendarmerie d'Haiti, which was working under a treaty with the United States, and participated in over forty engagements during the ensuing five years against the Caco rebels. In March 1924, he returned stateside and was again commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, afterward completing assignments at the Marine Barracks in Norfolk, Virginia, Basic School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and with the 10th Marine Artillery Regiment in Quantico, Virginia. He was assigned to the Marine Barracks at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in July 1926 and in San Diego, California in 1928.
In December 1928, Puller was assigned to the Nicaraguan National Guard detachment, where he earned his first Navy Cross. He returned stateside in July 1931 and completed the year-long Company Officers' Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, thereafter returning to Nicaragua to earn a second Navy Cross for leading "five successive engagements against superior numbers of armed bandit forces".
After his service in Nicaragua, Puller was assigned to the Marine detachment at the American Legation in Beijing, China commanding a unit of China Marines. He then went on to serve on the USS Augusta (CA-31), a cruiser in the Asiatic Fleet, which was commanded by then-Captain Chester W. Nimitz. Puller returned to the States in June 1936 as an instructor at the Basic School in Philadelphia.
In May 1939, he returned to the Augusta as commander of the onboard Marine detachment, and thence back to China, disembarking in Shanghai in May 1940 to serve as the executive officer of 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines. He later served as its commanding officer.
World War II
Returning to the U.S. in August 1941, Puller was given command of 1st Battalion, 7th Marines (known as 1/7) of the 1st Marine Division, stationed at MCB Camp Lejeune, North Carolina[1]. This unit was briefly attached to the 3rd Marine Regiment for transport to the Pacific theater, and rejoined the 1st Division on Guadalcanal. While on Guadalcanal, Puller earned his third Navy Cross for action that was later known as the "Battle of Henderson Field", in which the 1/7 battalion was the only American unit defending the airfield against a regiment-strength Japanese force. In a firefight on the night of October 24–25, 1942 lasting about three hours, 1/7 sustained 70 casualties; the Japanese force suffered over 1,400 killed in action, and the airfield was held by the battalion.
Following this action Puller was made executive officer of the 1st Marine Regiment. While serving in this capacity at Cape Gloucester, he earned his fourth Navy Cross for overall performance in December and January 1944, and was later (February 1944) made regimental commander, leading the regiment in numerous engagements on Peleliu during September and October 1944.
Puller returned to the United States in November 1944, and was named executive of the Infantry Training Regiment at Camp Lejeune. After the war, he was made Director of the 8th Reserve District at New Orleans, Louisiana, and later commanded the Marine Barracks at Pearl Harbor.
Korean War and later career
At the outbreak of the Korean conflict, Puller was once again assigned as commander of the 1st Marine Regiment, with which he made a landing at Inchon on September 15, 1950. In November of that year, Puller earned a fifth Navy Cross for action at Chosin Reservoir. Promoted to Brigadier General and made assistant division commander in January 1951, he completed his tour in Korea in May of that year.
General Puller subsequently achieved promotions to Major General and Lieutenant General, and served in various command capacities until his retirement due to health reasons on November 1, 1955.
In 1966, he requested to be reinstated in the Corps in order to see action in the Vietnam War, but the request was denied on the basis of his age.
He died in 1971, at the age of 73, in Saluda, Virginia. He is buried in Christchurch Cemetery off Highway 33 (also called "General Puller Highway") in Christchurch, Virginia which is on the southeast side of Christchurch School. General Puller's widow Virginia died in 2006 at the age of 97 and was buried next to him.
Decorations and honors
Puller was the most decorated U.S. Marine in history, and one of only two people to be awarded five Navy Crosses (the other being Navy submarine commander Roy Milton Davenport). His other decorations included:
- the Distinguished Service Cross,
- the Silver Star,
- two Legions of Merit (with Valor device),
- Bronze Star (with Valor Device),
- Air Medal with Gold Stars in lieu of second and third awards,
- Purple Heart,
- Presidential Unit Citation with four bronze stars
- Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal with bronze star
- World War I Victory Medal with West Indies clasp
and awards given by non-U.S. governments:
- Haitian Medaille Militaire
- Nicaraguan Presidential Medal of Merit with Diploma
- Nicaraguan Cross of Valor with Diploma
- Republic of Korea Ulchi Medal with Gold Star
- Korean Presidental Unit Citation with Oak Leaf Cluster
While exact counts of Puller's total number of decorations vary from source to source, an accepted number of 52 separate, subsequent, and foreign awards is commonplace. The reason for difficulty in assigning an exact total comes from the variety of foreign decorations that each carry different protocols in regard to wear and display.
The frigate Lewis B. Puller (FFG-23) was named after him.
On November 10, 2005, the United States Postal Service issued its Distinguished Marines stamps in which Puller was honored. [1]
A common incantation in the tradition of the Marine Corps is to end one's day with the declaration, "Good night Chesty, wherever you are!"
Also, to this day in boot camp and OCS (at Quantico, VA), Marines still chant "It was good enough for Chesty Puller/It is good enough for me" — Chesty is symbolic of the esprit de corps of the Marines.
Lewis B. Puller, Jr.
The general's son Lewis Burwell Puller, Jr. (generally known as Lewis Puller), followed his father into the Marine Corps, but fared much differently, losing both legs and parts of his hands in Vietnam. Lewis Puller ran an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in opposition to the war, later writing an autobiography titled Fortunate Son that won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992. He committed suicide on May 11, 1994.
His wife said at the time "To the list of names of victims of the Vietnam War, add the name of Lewis Puller ... He suffered terrible wounds that never really healed."
Quotes
- "All right, they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time."
- "We’re surrounded. That simplifies our problem of getting to these people and killing them" [2]
- "Remember, you are the 1st Marines! Not all the Communists in Hell can overrun you!"
- "Take me to the Brig. I want to see the real Marines."
- "Alright you bastards, try and shoot me!" (to Korean forces)
See also
Notes
- ^ "The History of the 7thMarines". Retrieved June 30.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help)
References
- Hoffman, Jon T. Chesty: The Story of Lieutenant General Lewis B. Puller, USMC, Random House, 2001. (ISBN 0679447326)
- Davis, Burke. Marine! The Life of Chesty Puller, Bantam Books, 1991 reprint. (ISBN 0553271822)
External links
- Lieutenant General Lewis "Chesty" B. Puller, USMC, Who's Who in Marine Corps History, History Division, United States Marine Corps. (Official Marine Corps biography)
- Account of defense of Henderson Field
- Partial service record