A Born 26 June, 1898 at West Point Virginia, Puller enlisted in the Corps in 1918 but the war ended while the Reserve Second Lieutenant was still in the States and he was subsequently discharged.

Not one to long stay a civilian, Puller immediately enlisted in the Regular Corps as a Private and was soon in Haiti where he served as an Officer of the Gendarmerie d'Haiti. He served in Haiti for five years and upon his return to the States he was commissioned a second lieutenant in March of 1924.

After an abortive effort at flight training, Puller served tours at Pearl Harbor, San Diego, sea duty, Philadelphia, Camp Lejeune and China as one of the "Horse Marines." Eventually this Marine ended up serving more than 20 years overseas, and earned more than 50 decorations. Five of the fifty being Navy Crosses for valor in combat.

Stories abound about this Marine, his command post on an island in WW2, right up where he could lead from the front as was his style. Then, when being relieved by an Army unit, the Commander moving it back 75 yards. During the retrograde maneuver from the Yalu River at Chosin Reservoir in Korea during that war, He is often quoted as havimg asked, "How many were the enemy" from an observer. After several attempts at estimating the forces arrayed against his Marines, one of the observers said, "Its a whole shit pot full." Puller's comment, "Well now I've got something to work with!" Another, as he commanded the rear guard of the same action in Korea, "They've got us right where we want 'em. We can shoot in every direction now." This after he was told that the Marines were surrounded and that the supply lines were cut by several communist Chinese Divisions. The Marines came out, fighting each step, bringing dead, wounded and equipment with them.

His empathy with and for enlisted Marines, his unwillingness to let a wrong go uncorrected, even if speaking to superiors in command, endeared him to his Marines. They who were able, took great pride in stating, "I'm a Puller trained Marine." And to this date, there is not a Marine in uniform who cannot tell a questioner something about General "Chesty" Puller.

Attached to the First Marine Division in WW2, he and his men fought at Guadalcanal defending Henderson Airfield and killed 1,400 seasoned Japanese troops in one action alone. Further hard fighting at Eastern New Guinea, Cape Gloucester and Peleliu further added to his fame as one of the Corps finest combat leaders.

Puller retired in November of 1955, but was recalled to testify at the Court Martial arising from the Ribbon Creek Parris Island S.C. incident where a Drill Instructor was found culpable for the deaths of several recruits.

Puller's words had much to do with the Corps retaining the right to train its recruits, as several outspoken civilians were calling for that effort to be transferred to the US Army. History has shown how important it has been for that to remain a Marine Corps function, as the other branches of America's armed forces now look to the Marine methods as the best way to ensure that recruits are properly trained to withstand the rigors of combat.

Puller died 11 Oct., 1971 at the age of 73 in Hampton VA. A listing of this Marine Corps icon's awards follows:

Navy Cross w/4 stars, Army Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Legion of Merit w/ 1 star, Bronze star, Air Medal w/2 stars, Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation w/4 stars, World War I Victory Medal w/West Indies clasp, Haitian Campaign Medal, Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal w/1 star, China Service Medal, American Defense Medal w/1 star, American Campaign Medal Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/4 stars, World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal w/5 stars, United Nations Service Medal, Nicaraguan Presidential Medal of merit w/1 star, Nicaraguan Cross of valor w/1 star, Korean Presidential Unit Citation, Korean Ulchi Medal w/1 palm, Chinese Cloud and Banner.