by Dick Hall-Sizemore
A family plot in the cemetery of a church in the Northern Neck completed in 1714 is the final resting place of a Virginia native who was one of the United States’ modern heroes.
A highway historic marker caught my eye this weekend while I was exploring the Northern Neck on my way back home from a conference in the Newport News area and I decided to visit the grave site of a man whom I had heard much about: Marine Lt. Gen. Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller.
Puller was the most decorated Marine in the history of the Corps. He was awarded five Navy Crosses (second only to the Congressional Medal of Honor for the Navy), the only person to receive that many. In addition to the Navy Crosses, he was awarded the Army equivalent, the Distinguished Service Medal, as well as the Army Silver Medal. Along with those medals and other awards, he was awarded a Purple Heart for being wounded in battle.
Puller was born in West Point, Va. After graduating from high school, he entered VMI in 1917. He left after a year, enlisting in the Marines, hoping to fight in World War I. He did not get to go overseas. He had been commissioned a second lieutenant but was placed on inactive reserve due to troop reductions. He reenlisted as a corporal and went on to serve in campaigns in Haiti and Nicaragua. Along the way, he was recommissioned as a second lieutenant. He commanded units in some of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War, including Guadalcanal and Peleliu. In the Korean War, he was handpicked to resume command of the 1st Marine Regiment and led it in the famous Inchon amphibious operation. During the Chosin Reservoir campaign he led the regiment in “attacking in a different direction” against ten Chinese divisions. It was during this battle that he supposedly reported, “We’ve been looking for the enemy for some time now. We’ve finally found him. We’re surrounded. That simplifies things.”
Puller was known as a “Marine’s Marine.” He took care of his men. Puller saw to it that officers ate the same meals as the enlisted men; he waited in line with the men for meals; he refused any comfort not available to enlisted men; and he carried his own gear. He led his men on the ground while continually encouraging them. He is a legend in the Corps. The Marine bulldog mascot has been dubbed “Chesty.” The unofficial “lights out” slogan of the Corps is, “Goodnight, Chesty, wherever you are.”
Forced to retire in 1955 due to serious health problems, Puller asked to be activated in 1966 for duty in Vietnam, but his request was denied due to his age. He died in 1971 and is buried at Christ Church near Saluda.
Puller’s son, Lewis B. Puller, Jr., was also a decorated Marine officer. Shortly after arriving in Vietnam as a 2nd Lieutenant, he was leading a patrol and stepped on a booby-trapped artillery shell. He survived the explosion but lost both legs and parts of both hands. He was awarded two Purple Hearts, the Silver Star, the Navy Commendation Medal, and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry. He later won a Pulitzer Prize for his autobiography, Fortunate Son. He died in 1994.
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chesty-Puller
https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/puller-lewis-burwell-chesty-1898-1971/
https://www.military.com/marine-corps/5-reasons-why-chesty-puller-marine-corps-legend.html
Good YouTube Bio of Puller:
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