Best Remembered Words...
Of General "Chesty" Puller USMC
According To GyG!

Marines websites abound on the Internet and most of these, in some way, are sure to include quotes, photos, and stories regarding this famous Marine's Marine. To be sure, he is likely the most often quoted Marine there ever was, and will be. And, that is also the purpose of this webpage here on Gunny G's today. I will, however, attempt to post here only those quotes and information that I consider less commonly found, and those I personally find more meaningful. The following, I think,  are some of those that fit into that category, and so I am presenting them here.



From the book, A Fellowship Of Valor, by Col Joseph H. Alexander, USMC Ret, 1997, Harper Collins, we learn the following regarding the flag raising in Seoul, Korea on 27 Spetember, 1950...

"...Leathernecks (Pfc Leguire shown) raised the American flag over the U.S. Embassy with a greatcheer. It felt so good they repeated the process at the French--and many other--embassies."



"An envious Army officer from Almond's staff chided Chesty Puller: 'Ever since that flag-raising picture on Iwo Jima got published, I'm convinced you Marines would rather carry a flag into battle than a weapon.' Puller regarded the man icily, 'Not a bad idea,' he growled, 'a man with a flag in his pack and the desire to run it up on an enemy position isn't likely to bug out!'"
Note: Marines also have a tradition of capturing flags
Re Sandino, Nicaragua, 1932, etc.

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Here's some more of Puller's words...

Amid a nationwide public outcry regarding the whole matter of the drownings in particular and Marine Corps training practices in general, LtGen Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller was recalled to active duty to testify at the trial regarding Marine training and tradition. Mrs. Puller protested to her husband citing previous trouble and controversy in Puller's career. Puller told her, "...The important thing is the Marine Corps. If we let 'em, they'll tear it to pieces. Headquarters won't speak up. It's my duty to do it."

At the trial, Puller was asked questions pertaining to his own military service, the mission of the Marine Corps, the most important element of Marine training, etc. In part, Puller replied that:, "...The definition of military training is success in battle. In my opinion, it is the only objective of military training..."
He quoted Napoleon. "He stated that the most important thing in military training is discipline. Without discipline an army becomes a mob."
Puller was asked what he had learned here (PISC) as a recruit. He replied, "Well, the main thing--that I have rememberd all my life--is the definition of espirit de corps. Now my definition--that I was taught, that I've always believed in--is that espirit de corps means love for one's military legion. In my case the United States Marine Corps. I also learned that this loyalty to one's Corps travels both ways, up and down."

"Q: Now, general, I want you to assume that what is the evidence in this case is a fact. That on a Sunday evening a drill instructor took a platoon that was undisciplined and lacked spirit and on whom he' tried other methods of discipline. And that for purposes of teaching discipline and instilling morale he took that platoon into a marsh or creek--all the way in front of his troops--would you consider that oppression?
A: In my opinion it is not."
"Q: So, in your opinion, was this act of this drill instructor in leading his troops, under those conditions and for that purpose, good or bad military practice?
A: Good...
...I would train my troops as I thought--as I knew they should be trained--regardless of a directive."
"Q: ...I lead these recruits into water over their heads and I lose six of those men by drowning. Would you say that some action should be taken against me?
A: I would say that this night march was and is a deplorable accident."
"Q: Would you take any action against me if I were the one who did that, if you were my Commanding Officer, sir?
A: ...I think, from what I read in the papers yesterday of the testimony of General Pate before this court, that he agrees and regrets that this man was ever ordered tried by general court-martial."

"Puller went into the noncom's club that night with Berman, two Marine generals and other officers; the big crowd stood, shouting until he spoke:
'I've talked enough for today. This will be my last request. Do your duty and the Marine Corps will be as great as it has always been for another thousand years.'
The applause was deafening."

Re
The book, " Marine, The Life of Lt. Gen. Lewis B. (Chesty) Puller, USMC (Ret.)"
By Burke Davis, 1962, Bantam



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PULLER--Life Saving Medal In Australia?

"The following article was sent to me by former Marine Sergeant, and Vietnam veteran, Rick Mowles who remembered reading the article back in 1971. He also researched and obtained a copy of the original article.

The article was occasioned by the death of Marine Lt. General Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller USMC (Ret.). The article was from the Roanoke World News, and dated October 12, 1971. My thanks to Rick for bringing the article to my attention, and for providing me a photocopy of the article itself.

The article focuses on Puller's death, his long and varied service to the Marine Corps and his country, his many medals and honors, etc., and his lengthy illness prior to his death.

In addition, the following is quoted from the article. "At one point in his career while serving in Australia, a car broke loose from a ferry on which he was riding and dropped into the water. Puller jumped in and rescued the two occupants. The Australians awarded him their Life Saving Medal--not realizing he couldn't swim a stroke."

The above quoted incident is one that I do not recall having previously known of. I cannot locate anything of it in either of the two best references on Puller--i.e., "Chesty," by LtCol Jon T. Hoffman, USMCR, or, "Marine," by Burke Davis; of course, it might well be in those books and I just missed it. In addition to the above article, I am also, however, seeking to find official authentication, of some kind, for the above, to satisfy my own curiosity.
-RWG"
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By Permission, Bob Francis

http://www.fourthmarinesband.com/francis1.htm

Fourth Marines Band: "Last China Band"

THE EDGE

CHAPTER ONE - "The Edge"

ABOUT "THE EDGE"

This poem was inspired by a remark the late Lt. General Lewis B. (Chesty) Puller of the USMC made to me during my visit to the Amphibious Training Center in Imperial Beach, California.

General Puller was one of the most highly-decorated officers in Marine Corps history. I took offense at the General�s suggestion that my service with the 4th Marines on Bataan and Corregidor during WWII was all rest and no fight. This angered me and despite the difference in our ranks, I informed him of the fate of the China Marines during the dark days of war. I survived 40 months as a POW to tell my story to the general.

"THE EDGE"
Dedicated to the late Lt. General Lewis B. (Chesty) Puller, USMC
I wondered when I saw him,
if the legend befit this smallish man,
if his balding pate and graying hair
matched the ribbons and hid a lion�s heart.

He spoke softly, welcoming me
and offered me a seat
and then, with just the flicker
of a smile across those acrid lips,
asked me where I�d served before.

I answered quickly, with just the slightest
quiver in my voice, Fourth Marines, sir
Bataan and Corregidor

His eyes lit up as he swung
his swivel chair around.
�Fourth Marines, you say?
You rested son.
There was no war for you.�

My eyes flushed red, I felt the surge
of anger fill my throat and gut
and weaken my knees.

I guess I should have hesitated
and stopped the rush of words �
stopped and hid the hurt in me,
and look away and say, �Yes, sir.�

�General,� I said instead,
�I know your record, bravery too,
some of your ribbons and battle stars
may be happenstance,
but there are too many there for
none to tell the truth.�

The Fourth Marines has its story too,
of bravery and the will to fight.
Your hymn and mine play just the same.
But one thing, sir, we did not know then
the fleet was gone, and hope its vantage perch.

Those days were cruel, all sun and sweat
and short supply.
The edge of death and us upon its brink
in battles fought against overwhelming odds,
and the delirium of dengue fever
and malaria
and crippling jungle rot.

And then the agony of hell itself
with bayonets and hard forced marches,
for men already sick and close to death.
�March on, march on,� they said,
The graves are empty yet.�

The world became a barbed wire fence,
bamboo towers, sticks and bayonets.
Cramped bowels and dirty pants,
and cold, cold corpses dead of dysentery.
A chaplain there would prove to no avail.

And when we thought we could accommodate,
we found our bodies swollen with Beri-Beri,
our mouths burned raw with Mariner�s Disease
while Pellagra scorched our arms and legs

Forty long months, sir, and no rest camps
along the way.
No tears for thousands dead nor
whimpering
along the road.
We came closer then, learned to help
each other and ourselves, as well.
We thought God�s face shone among us
and it would always be that way.

The death ships came and we sailed away
listening hard for sonar pings from
holds of iron and bamboo mats.
We held our breath and waited for that
thundering crash to come.
We knew we stood up on the edge,
the only edge that mattered, sir,
the edge of death, of course.

In the prison camps of old Japan
the rains and snows came first.
Just cold, no heat, no food.
�Chisai Hako,� small boxes, sir,
for those ashes no one would ever see.

It was no honor to hurt their cause.
Accidents that should never happen,
railroad cars that lost their wheels
and guards who slipped and fell from
trestles.

Those of us who come home from war
are full of memories.
I can�t count myself among the brave
but where I was not, braver men endured.
To leave our dead was the hardest task of all.

�I like to think, sir, that all of us have
somewhere a most sacred shrine
where we
break the bread and proffer wine
for those of us we left behind.�

The old man, his ribbons and battle stars
glistening on his pouter chest,
rose from his chair and with
measured gait moved from his desk
and grasped my hand and said,
�Son, I apologize. I didn�t mean
what I said before and promise you
I�ll never say it again.�
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And, be sure to see the website of Retired Marine Noah H. Belew, who first served with general Puller during World War II, when Belew was just 17 years old. Later, in 1955, he was also at the General's retirement, and general Puller had his driver remove the 3-star license plate from the front of his car, and he presented it to Belew.

http://www.semperfidelisnoah.com/TheFewTheProud.htm
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There had been last-minute reinforcements, a battalion of U.S. Army troops which fought its way through the enemy with heavy losses. Its colonel reported to Puller for orders.
"Take your position along those hills and have your men dig in."
"Yes sir. Now where's my line of retreat?"
Puller's voice became slow and hard: "I'm glad you asked me that. Now I know where you stand. Wait one minute." He took a field telephone and called his tank commander. The Army officer listened to the Marine order:
"I've got a new outfit," Puller said. He gave its position in detail. "If they start to pull back from that line, even one foot, I want you to open fire on them." He hung up the telephone and turned to the Army officer:
"Does that answer your question?"
From the book: Marine! The Life of Lt.Gen. Lewis B. (Chesty) Puller USMC (Ret.)
By Burke Davis
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For two weeks Puller had commanded the rear of the First Marine Division, cut off in the Chosin resevoir region by hundreds of thousands of Chinese Communist troops. The Colonel was visiting a hospital tent where a priest administered last rites to Marine wounded when a messenger came:

"Sir, do you know they've cut us off? We're entirely surrounded."
"Those poor bastards ," Puller said. "They've got us right where we want 'em. We can shoot in every direction now."
Fom the book: Marine! The Life Of Lt. Gen. Lewis B. (Chesty) Puller USMC (Ret.)
By Burke Davis
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