AVB
Jesus of Cool, I'm bad, I'm nationwide
World War I ended days after he enlisted, and his request for active duty in Vietnam in 1966 was denied on account of his age - after all he was 68.
But, Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller was a force to be reckoned with in every other war and armed conflict between those times. Long before he retired as a lieutenant general, he had become a Marine Corps living legend.
On Nov. 20, a grateful hometown honored its hero, remembered that he is the only Marine ever to receive five Navy Crosses for bravery and expressed thanks that he was on our side.
"We owe him more than we can every repay," said Mayor Jim Hudson, one of three speakers who helped commemorate a new Virginia historical highway marker in Puller's honor.
"How meaningful it is that a man of his stature lived amongst us," Del. Harvey B. Morgan, R-Middlesex, said when he took his turn on the podium at West Point High School, where several hundred people had gathered.
"He was a true icon," added retired Marine Lt. Gen. Ron Christmas, president of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation.
Puller fought in Nicaragua and also saw expeditionary service in China and Haiti. He and his men endured a relentless Japanese assault on Guadalcanal in World War II. In Korea, as commander of the 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division, he repelled brutal attacks from surrounding Communist troops that vastly outnumbered the American forces.
"All right," Puller was said to declare as he summed up the bleak situation, "they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us and they're behind us. . . They can't get away this time!" They didn't. The Marines destroyed seven of the enemy divisions.
"Today's Marines learn about Chesty Puller in boot camp," said Marine veteran Ernest Lutz, who drove two hours in pouring rain yesterday from his home in Chesapeake to pay respects.
Puller died in 1971 while living in Middlesex County.
The highway marker will be placed on state Route 33 in West Point, where Puller lived before enrolling at Virginia Military Institute.
It took a Marine's wife to spearhead the drive to install the marker. Jessica Drake's husband, Maj. Chad Drake, is serving in Iraq. Prior to their marriage 13 years ago, Jessica Drake had done her research by reading Puller's memoir and a biography.
"I thought they'd prepare me as a Marine wife," she said. What it did was cause her to revere Puller as much as any Marine, she said.
Drake was surprised to find no historical marker honoring Puller as she drove through West Point last December. When she got home, she contacted the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, which oversees the historical marker system, and the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, which co-sponsored the sign.
"America's great men come from small towns," Jessica Drake said. "West Point is small-town America - they grew a great man."
But, Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller was a force to be reckoned with in every other war and armed conflict between those times. Long before he retired as a lieutenant general, he had become a Marine Corps living legend.
On Nov. 20, a grateful hometown honored its hero, remembered that he is the only Marine ever to receive five Navy Crosses for bravery and expressed thanks that he was on our side.
"We owe him more than we can every repay," said Mayor Jim Hudson, one of three speakers who helped commemorate a new Virginia historical highway marker in Puller's honor.
"How meaningful it is that a man of his stature lived amongst us," Del. Harvey B. Morgan, R-Middlesex, said when he took his turn on the podium at West Point High School, where several hundred people had gathered.
"He was a true icon," added retired Marine Lt. Gen. Ron Christmas, president of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation.
Puller fought in Nicaragua and also saw expeditionary service in China and Haiti. He and his men endured a relentless Japanese assault on Guadalcanal in World War II. In Korea, as commander of the 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division, he repelled brutal attacks from surrounding Communist troops that vastly outnumbered the American forces.
"All right," Puller was said to declare as he summed up the bleak situation, "they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us and they're behind us. . . They can't get away this time!" They didn't. The Marines destroyed seven of the enemy divisions.
"Today's Marines learn about Chesty Puller in boot camp," said Marine veteran Ernest Lutz, who drove two hours in pouring rain yesterday from his home in Chesapeake to pay respects.
Puller died in 1971 while living in Middlesex County.
The highway marker will be placed on state Route 33 in West Point, where Puller lived before enrolling at Virginia Military Institute.
It took a Marine's wife to spearhead the drive to install the marker. Jessica Drake's husband, Maj. Chad Drake, is serving in Iraq. Prior to their marriage 13 years ago, Jessica Drake had done her research by reading Puller's memoir and a biography.
"I thought they'd prepare me as a Marine wife," she said. What it did was cause her to revere Puller as much as any Marine, she said.
Drake was surprised to find no historical marker honoring Puller as she drove through West Point last December. When she got home, she contacted the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, which oversees the historical marker system, and the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, which co-sponsored the sign.
"America's great men come from small towns," Jessica Drake said. "West Point is small-town America - they grew a great man."
Born-n-raised in Miami, Florida in 1939.
