WHAAAAAAT?   I.  CAN’T.  HEAR.  YOU!

Lewis Burwell “Chesty” Puller is the most decorated Marine in history.  No President, while Chesty was alive, or, posthumously, has had the balls to award The Medal of Honor to this Marine.  Why?  We have seen several veterans receive The Medal of Honor in their old age as well as have endured some being awarded the Nobel Prize for doing absolutely nothing, yet Chesty Puller still hasn’t received The Medal of Honor?  Let’s take a look at this Marine as well as this ridiculous government “oversight” and hope it gets corrected, soon.  By now some of you are thinking “who is this Chesty guy?” while others “shut up and give him The M.O.H., already!”  Continuing on…

Lewis Burwell “Chesty” Puller was born 26 June 1898 in West Point, VA.  Chesty grew up in a military family listening to tales of the Civil War.  He was an outdoorsman who loved camping, fishing and hunting.  Chesty was an avid reader, especially with regard to military history.  His heroes as a child were his grandfather, Confederate Maj. John W. Puller, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and Gen. Robert E. Lee.  Interestingly, Chesty was also the second cousin of Gen. George Patton, Jr.  He enrolled at the Virginia Military Institute in 1917 but left after a year, with hopes of fighting in World War I. He was assigned, instead, to train recruits in South Carolina. In 1919, he graduated from Officer Candidate School as a second lieutenant but was immediately placed on the inactive list because of the post-war reduction in force.  As a result of being RIFted, Puller re-enlisted as a Private and was deployed to Haiti for five years to train the newly formed Gendarmerie d’Haiti, a constabulary force of Haitian enlisted personnel and USMC officers. He returned to the United States in 1924 and received his commission, again, as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. Puller served in the United States Marine Corps for 37 years.  A bonafide badass leatherneck with the scars to prove it. But this badass had one soft spot—his fierce loyalty and care for his men. His leadership in the Corps is the reason still to this day, as protocol, that officers in the field never eat until the enlisted men have been served.  He was a Marine’s Marine, serving both as an enlisted man then as an officer, ultimately rising to the rank of Lieutenant General at the end of his career.

Five reasons why Puller became a Marine Corps legend:

1. His motto:

“Lead by example” was not a flippant, empty slogan. He lived with his men. There were no Officers’ Mess in Puller’s outfit.  He fell in line with the privates, carrying his own mess gear. In combat, he rigidly refused comforts unattainable for his men.  During training, he carried his own pack and bedding roll while marching at the head of his battalion.  On one occasion, during a 28-day combat patrol through New Britain, he refused to allow native bearers to carry his pack.  Like the men, he adhered to a monotonous diet of “K” rations. He slept on the deck or on the bare floor of an abandoned native hut, refusing to allow the natives to make a mattress of banana leaves for him.  The legendary stories go on and on. There’s more truth than fiction in the tales of his exploits, as evidenced by his massive list of combat decorations for extraordinary valor.

2. The Legend of “Chesty”:

Some say Puller got his famous nickname because of his big, thrust-out chest.  The myth was that “the original had been shot away and the new chest was a steel plate.” is exactly that-a myth.  In a handwritten note dated 22 November 1954 to one of his junior officers “I had done a little soldiering previous to Guadalcanal and had been called a lot of names, but why ‘Chesty’? Especially the steel part??”  Others state that the term “chesty” suggest it was an old Marine expression meaning “cocky” or “confident.”  A few claimed that he developed the chest from shouting commands above the noise of battle.  “We don’t need no frontline communications,” men under him bragged, “Chesty yells commands up and down the line. You can hear him for miles.”  The reasonable explanation was Chesty Puller earned his nickname primarily due to his prominent, barrel chest and commanding presence, which stood out among his fellow Marines.  The nickname likely originated from his aggressive stance and bold demeanor in combat, with some attributing it to his large chest.  Puller himself as well was uncertain about the origin, but the handle remains to this day.   Regardless of the true origin, the nickname became a lasting symbol of his fearless leadership and enduring legacy in the U.S.M.C.

3. Most Decorated Marine:

Chesty Puller was the most decorated Marine in history, and the only Marine to receive five Navy Crosses. The 1^st Navy Cross, awarded for leading Company M, Nicaragua National Guard, in five successive engagements against superior numbers of armed bandit forces from 16 February to 19 August 1930, during the Second Nicaraguan Campaign.  His relentless pursuit of rebels under Augusto César Sandino earned him the nickname “El Tigre.”  The 2^nd Navy Cross was awarded for leading a 40-man patrol in a 10-day march through jungle terrain in Nicaragua. In September 1932, his unit was ambushed by a force more than three times its size near Jinotega.  Puller repelled three separate ambushes, resulting in the decimation of the enemy while suffering only two fatalities and six wounded.  The 3^rd Navy Cross was awarded for commanding the 1^st Battalion, 7^th Marines, during the Battle of Guadalcanal on 24 October 1942.  He held a mile-long front against a numerically superior Japanese force, repelling six major assaults through the night and maintaining command until reinforcements arrived. The 4^th Navy Cross was awarded for actions during the Cape Gloucester campaign in New Britain, Papua New Guinea, from late December 1943 to mid-January 1944.  As executive officer of the 7th Marines, Puller took emergency command, reorganized stalled troops, and led a decisive assault on a key ridge under intense enemy fire.  The final and 5^th Navy Cross was awarded for heroism during the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir from 5 to 10 December, 1950, in the Korean War.  As commanding officer of the 1^st Marine Division, he defended critical supply lines and defensive sectors against overwhelming Chinese forces in sub-zero temperatures, personally leading and inspiring his men despite heavy casualties.  It was during that battle when he made the famous quote: “We’ve been looking for the enemy for some time now. We’ve finally found him. We’re surrounded. That simplifies things.” 

His complete list of medals are as follows:

Combat and Service Medals:

• Navy Cross (5 awards) – The highest U.S. military decoration for valor in combat, awarded five times; the only Marine to receive this honor five times. 
• Distinguished Service Cross (U.S. Army) – Awarded for extraordinary heroism during the Korean War at the Chosin Reservoir; the only person to receive both the Navy Cross and Distinguished Service Cross. 
• Silver Star – Awarded for conspicuous gallantry in action during the Inchon landing in Korea. 
• Legion of Merit (2 awards) – With Combat “V” device for valor, awarded for exceptional service in World War II and the Korean War. 
• Bronze Star Medal (2 awards) – One with Combat “V” device for heroic achievement in combat during World War II; the second for service in Korea. 
• Purple Heart (5 awards) – Awarded for wounds received in combat during Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, and the Chosin Reservoir.

Campaign and Service Ribbons:

• Presidential Unit Citation (5 awards) – With multiple bronze service stars. 
• Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (4 battle stars) – For service in World War II.
• World War II Victory Medal
• Korean Service Medal (5 battle stars) – With one silver star in lieu of five bronze stars. 
• National Defense Service Medal
• American Campaign Medal
• World War I Victory Medal (with West Indies clasp)
• Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal (2 awards)
• Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal (2 awards)
• Haitian Campaign Medal
• Nicaraguan Campaign Medal
• China Service Medal
• American Defense Service Medal (with Base clasp)

Foreign and International Awards:

• Haitian Médaille Militaire
• Nicaraguan Presidential Medal of Merit (with Diploma)
• Nicaraguan Cross of Valor (with Diploma)
• Korean Order of Military Merit, Eulji Cordon Medal
• Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
• United Nations Service Medal for Korea
• Order of the Cloud and Banner (with Special Cravat) – Awarded by the Republic of China (Taiwan)

Additional Recognition:

• Air Medal (3 awards) – For meritorious achievement during aerial flights in combat zones. 
• Chesty Puller Award – Named in his honor, awarded annually to outstanding Marine units in the II Marine Expeditionary Force

4. Served as Both Enlisted and Officer:

2^nd Lt. Chesty Puller was associated with the 1^st Marine Division’s Mascot “Sgt. Maj. Jiggs” in 1925.  Puller was commissioned as a 2^nd Lieutenant during World War I. As the WWI wound down, he was put on inactive status and given the rank of corporal.  In keeping with his badass attitude, he re-enlisted as a private and was sent to Haiti to fight Cacao Rebels bent on the violent overthrow of the U.S.-sponsored Haitian government. His valor and accomplishments in battle earned him rapid promotions, and by the time he was shipped out to Nicaragua in 1930, he was a commissioned 2^nd Lieutenant, again.  His legend preceded him and served him well leading young men. His men knew that he had their backs because he had humped through jungles, endured the harshest of conditions, and been wounded in battle, just like them, with 5 Purple Hearts.  Chesty quickly earned the reputation among his superiors as someone who didn’t abide with bull$hit or political maneuvering, not unlike his second cousin, Gen. Patton.  Some suggest that his straight-forward attitude, while serving him well in combat and earned him respect from his men, caused him to be passed over for receiving the nation’s highest award — the Medal of Honor, which was, and still is, bull$hit.

5. “Pullerisms”:

“Old breed? New breed? There’s not a damn bit of difference as long as it’s the Marine breed.”

“Where the Hell do you put the bayonet?”  He said this while at a flamethrower demonstration. Apparently, Puller wanted to be ready to stab the men he set on fire.

“Son, when the Marine Corps wants you to have a wife, you will be issued one.”  This was Puller’s response to a young Marine who was asking permission to get married.

He led Marines in some of the bloodiest battles of World War II, including Guadalcanal and Peleliu, the names of which forever speak of the Marines’ exploits and sacrifices.  In the Korean War, Puller was again assigned as commander of the 1^st Marine Division, which he led to a landing at Inchon on 15 September 1950.  This service record to the United States is unparalleled in the U.S.M.C., the majority of his assignments being 2^nd Marine Division and the 1^st Marine Division.  “Chesty” Puller died on October 11, 1971, at the age of 73, in Hampton, Virginia, ultimately rising to the rank of Lieutenant General at the end of his career.  He died after a series of strokes, following a long illness. Puller, the most decorated Marine in U.S. history, had retired from the Marine Corps in 1955 due to health issues. He is buried in Christ Church Cemetery in Saluda, Virginia, near the Virginia Historical Highway Marker honoring him on State Route 33, known as the “General Puller Highway.”  Why hasn’t this exemplar of the U.S.M.C. been awarded The Medal of Honor posthumously?  More importantly, how long will this bull$shit be allowed to continue?  SEMPER FI, Chesty!