Chesty Puller

Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller (June 26, 1898 – October 11, 1971) was a United States Marine Corps officer. Beginning his career fighting guerillas in Haiti and Nicaragua as part of the Banana Wars, he later served with distinction in World War II and the Korean War as a senior officer. By the time of his retirement in 1955, he had reached the rank of lieutenant general.

Puller is the most decorated Marine in American history. He was awarded five Navy Crosses and one Distinguished Service Cross. With six crosses, Puller is second behind Eddie Rickenbacker and died in 1971 at age 73.

Early life

Puller was born in West Point, Virginia, to Matthew and Martha Puller. Puller was of English ancestry; his ancestors who came to America emigrated to the colony of Virginia from Bedfordshire, England in 1621. His father was a grocer who died when Puller was 10 years old. Puller grew up listening to old veterans' tales of the American Civil War and idolizing Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. He wanted to enlist in the United States Army to fight in the Border War with Mexico in 1916, but he was too young and could not get parental consent from his mother.

The following year, Puller attended the Virginia Military Institute but left in August 1918 as World War I was still ongoing, saying that he wanted to "go where the guns are!" Inspired by the 5th Marines at Belleau Wood, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps as a private and attended boot camp at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina. Although he never saw action in that war, the Marine Corps was expanding, and soon after graduating he attended its non-commissioned officer school and Officer Candidates School (OCS) at Quantico, Virginia. Graduating from OCS on June 16, 1919, Puller was appointed second lieutenant in the reserves, but the reduction in force from 73,000 to 1,100 officers and 27,400 men following the war led to his being put on inactive status 10 days later and given the rank of corporal.

Interwar years

United States occupation of Haiti

Corporal Puller received orders to serve in the '' Gendarmerie d'Haiti'' as a lieutenant, seeing action in Haiti. While the United States was working under a treaty with Haiti, he participated in over forty engagements during the ensuing five years against the Caco rebels and attempted to regain his commission as an officer twice. In 1922, he served as an adjutant to Major Alexander Vandegrift, a future Commandant of the Marine Corps.

Supply run

Puller received orders to deliver supplies to Mirebalais and Lascahobas. These two small towns were located in a region where there was a significant presence of Caco guerrillas under the command of Benoît Batraville, who was a high ranking insurgent leader. Puller's supply party consisted of twenty-five mounted Haitian Gendarmes along with the pack animals. Puller kept his force moving rapidly to avoid risking an ambush or night attack by the Caco.

Later on, the small force of Gendarmes led by Puller ran in to an equally surprised column of about one hundred Cacos coming from the opposite direction around a bend in the road. Puller ordered a charge and spurred his horse forward to attack the Cacos. The Gendarmes charged beside him and scattered the Cacos, who used guerilla tactics and therefore seldom stood their ground if attacked by a significant force. The Cacos fired a handful of shots at the onrushing American-led Gendarmes and then dispersed to make pursuit more difficult. With the burden of the pack mules, Puller could not pursue the evasive Cacos. After the clash ended, one dead Caco bandit was found.

This skirmish was Puller's first engagement in the occupation and showed his adeptness at aggressive action and effective leadership from the front. Puller and his force of Gendarmes reached Mirebalais and delivered the supplies needed by the town. The next day, Puller made a 34-hour round trip to Lascahobas to deliver the final supplies and then returned to Port-au-Prince completing his supply run.

Ambushing the Cacos

Puller was assigned a new duty to begin offensive operations against the Cacos. Puller inherited a force of one hundred Gendarmes who were supported unofficially by about the same number of female camp followers. Puller's assigned chief assistant was acting Second Lieutenant Augustin B. Brunot, a Haitain who was fluent in English. Other pro-American Haitians added to Puller's force were newly commissioned lieutenants Lyautey and Brunot, and a Haitian private named Jean Louis Cermontout, who Puller recruited with the promise of promotion after seeing him return from a successful patrol with the severed heads of two Cacos bandits.

Brunot and Lyautey advised Puller on how to combat the Cacos insurgents. They advised him that daylight patrols had little chance of encountering the Cacos, as they hid during the day, only emerging from hiding to ambush government patrols if they had superior numbers. Chance encounters such as Puller's supply run were rare because the Cacos knew the terrain and had good intelligence of constabulary activities. They advised him that the Cacos encamped at night and that night patrols would have a better chance of surprising them. When Puller and his unit, following this advice, patrolled along a ridge-top trail one night, he observed campfires and heard drums nearby. Puller with Lyautey and some Gendarmes went to scout, while Brunot remained with the rest of the Gendarmes. The noise turned out to be a celebration at a Cacos guerrilla encampment. After returning, Puller came up with a plan to ambush the Cacos at dawn.

Puller placed the main body of men in a line facing the bandit camp and sent the smaller crews with three Lewis machine guns to the flank in a position where they covered the enemy rear, setting an L-shaped ambush. After Puller's force of Gendarmes got into position, Puller executed the ambush. As Puller had predicted, when the main body of men opened fire at first light, the surprised Cacos bandits fled from the source of immediate danger into the fields of fire of the machine guns, where all seventeen were killed. Dozens of machetes and a large flock of gamecocks were found. Puller and his Gendarmes celebrated their victory and feasted on abandoned supplies while using the game cocks for cockfighting. Puller later participated in more patrols as he gained experience and learned the peculiarities of small wars.

Further operations against the Cacos, October–November 1919

Puller would conduct more offensive operations to suppress the Cacos. On October 28, 1919, Puller went on a patrol with Brunot and a mixed force of fifteen American Marines and Gendarmes. They would stay out ten days, at which time another group would relieve them. The unit, using night movements, made contact on October 31 with a small band, killing two of the enemy and capturing four rifles, several machetes, and some swords. On November 1, they arrested three suspected bandits.

Infiltrating and raiding a Cacos camp, November 4, 1919

On the afternoon of November 4, 1919, Puller and his men entered a small village of grass shacks ten miles west of Mirebalais. A priest told Brunot that a high ranking Cacos insurgent leader named Dominique Georges had a camp about fifteen miles away. He and his men decided to take this opportunity to kill or capture Dominique Georges. Despite heavy rain, Puller took a small patrol of Marines and Gendarmes out immediately. Puller, Brunot, and Private Cermontout Jean Louis scouted out ahead of the small column during the night when they came upon the remains of a bonfire, indicating a bandit guard post. A Cacos sentry armed with a rifle challenged Puller's group. The sentry could not see them clearly as it was very dark and his bonfire had been put out by the rain. Brunot replied in his Haitain accent "Cacos", at which the guard let them through. Puller, Brunot, and Jean Louis were able to infiltrate the Cacos camp and came upon a clearing with many huts and lean-tos. Puller and Jean Louis took firing positions on the ground after Puller sent Brunot to gather the rest of the patrol to assault the camp. Puller aimed his rifle at a man he later believed was Georges, but waited for the main attack instead of firing. A Caco challenged the two prone figures, so that Puller had to shoot the Caco, starting the battle. The marines and gendarmes rushed forward, but the estimated two hundred Cacos scattered, with Puller and Jean Louis firing as fast as they could at fleeing figures. After the government forces had possession of the camp, they found one dead Caco. Puller's patrol took twenty seven rifles, swords, and machetes, and several dozen gamecocks. Among the booty was George's personal rifle, identified by his initials in the stock. Puller and his patrol spent the night at the camp and then withdrew safely to their base at Mirebalais.

Patrol and raid, November 9, 1919

On November 9, Puller and Brunot led a patrol of thirty-three Gendarmes. Just before dawn they found a camp and attacked it. This time Puller and his fellow Gendarmes killed ten Cacos and captured two rifles. After the raid of the Cacos camp, they safely withdrew to Mirebalais by a circuitous route and fell into garrison routine for a few days.

Further patrol operations

After the successful assassination of Charlemagne Péralte by Herman H. Hanneken in a raid, Benoît Batraville became the next leader of the Cacos. Puller and Brunot each took a part of the company out on a patrol. Brunot spotted a Caco force that turned out to be Batraville's, but before Brunot could get his force into position for an attack, the Cacos broke camp and melted away. Puller had better luck, with two Cacos killed and sixteen captured.

Ending of the fighting in Haiti

The Cacos rebellion collapsed altogether when a Marine patrol killed Batraville on May 19, 1920. A month later, the last significant Caco leader surrendered. More patrols by the Gendarmes and American Marines in the following year killed a further eighty-five Cacos. Later on in September 1920, Herman H. Hanneken penetrated a Caco camp in disguise, arresting five chiefs while killing another. By June 1921, a government military commander declared the country to be "completely tranquil."

Return to the United States

Puller returned stateside and was finally recommissioned as a second lieutenant on March 6, 1924 ( Service No. 03158). After completing assignments at the Marine barracks in Norfolk, Virginia, The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, and with the 10th Marine Artillery Regiment in Quantico, Virginia, he was assigned to the Marine barracks at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in July 1926 and in San Diego, California, in 1928.

United States occupation of Nicaragua

In December 1928, Puller was assigned to the Nicaraguan National Guard detachment, where he was awarded his first Navy Cross for his actions from February 16 to August 19, 1930, when he led "five successive engagements against superior numbers of armed bandit forces." He returned stateside in July 1931 and completed the year-long Company Officers Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, thereafter returning to Nicaragua from September 20 to October 1, 1932, and was awarded a second Navy Cross. Puller led American Marines and Nicaraguan National Guardsmen into battle against Sandinista rebels in the last major engagement of the Sandino Rebellion near El Sauce on December 26, 1932.

Patrolling, June 4–6, 1930

After Puller inherited command of Nicaraguan Guardia Nacional called Company M. He was prepared to conduct operations against the Sandinista rebels. Puller immediately departed on a patrol. Puller moved eastward for a five-day sweep, but soon received orders to head northeast. The patrol moved by day and camped each night in a village. In the afternoon of June 4, the company was at San Antonio cooking a steer in preparation for a trek into the uninhabited area around Mt. Kilande. After hearing some gunshots to the north, Puller sent thirteen men of the Guardia to investigate a thousand yards beyond the town. The Guardia encountered six rebels who may have been Sandinistas and a firefight occurred. The Guardia killed one rebel while the other five fled. The rebel bandit was armed with a Springfield rifle and Colt revolver. On June 6, the patrol moved toward the village of Los Cedros when it encountered an equally surprised force of Sandinistas who were on top of a brush covered hill that sloped about 175 yards down to the trail. The Sandinistas opened fire on the patrol and the patrol returned fire. Without hesitation, Puller dashed up the rise while yelling for his men to charge. Puller's men joined in the attack and fired their weapons while charging the enemy position. Puller and his Guardia were able to avoid being hit by small arms fire and crude improvised grenades thrown by the rebels. The rebels were routed and fled. Puller and his men realized they stumbled onto an insurgent camp. Seven dead rebel bodies were found and Puller's force suffered no casualties. Puller's patrol found two rifles, one pistol, and ten machetes. They also found rosters and papers in the rebel camp, which revealed that two of the seven dead rebels were leaders of the group. After that, Puller's company returned to Jinotega.

Further operations, June 12-July 12, 1930

Puller departed on a new patrol on June 12. Puller's patrol searched fruitlessly and found nothing. Puller and his men arrived back at their base at June 20. At June 24, Puller, William "Ironman" Lee, and their men joined forces with another government patrol of thirty men under the command of Lieutenant M.K. Chenoweth. Together the combined American-Nicaraguan force left Jinotega. At Santa Fe, Puller picked up an additional fifteen Guardias. After patrolling, Puller's men had encountered lone bandits on two occasions and killed them both. Puller's large group operated for nearly two more weeks, often split into two patrols with one following the other at a distance. The reinforced unit finally returned to base on July 12.

Attempted ambush against the rebels, further pursuit, and raiding a rebel camp, November 6–27, 1930

Puller and his Company M went out on a patrol again on November 6, 1930. Puller, Lee, and twenty-one men left Jinetoga to search for the enemy. The patrol picked up a trail of about thirty bandits who were pillaging small ranches near Santa Isabel. Puller's patrol caught sight of the enemy at 9:00 A.M. on November 19 pursuing them for three miles, and wounding at least one of them. Puller's patrol decided to surprise the bandits. The patrol set up an ambush hiding themselves along a trail when a manager of a local finca spotted them and walked up to them to provide them information on a rebel band. With the ambush compromised by the finca manager, the patrol moved on. Puller's patrol reported into Corinto Finca on November 20 for supplies and pack animals, then left on the same day to check out a report of a rebel concentration near Mt. Guapinol. Puller and his patrol struggled through heavy rains, muddy trails, and flooded rivers. On the morning of 25 November, the patrol came across a bandit trail. The Guardia under Puller followed this trail and at 10:30 A.M., the point sighted about ten rebels amongst some fallen trees. Puller's men opened fire and the enemy fled. Further along the trail, the pursuers came upon the rebel camp which had four buildings with log barricades in front and a hundred-foot cliff in the rear. There were at least forty or so rebels who fought briefly. Then the rebels threw their belongings and three wounded men into the ravine and then clambered down on ropes and ladders, which they pulled down after themselves. By the time some of the Guardia worked their way down into the draw the enemy had disappeared. Puller's patrol found two dead bandits and some supplies. Puller was certain that the three wounded bandits who had gone over the cliff had died. Puller's force captured documents which showed that one of their previous operations on August 19, 1930, wounded a minor chief of the rebels. After raiding this rebel camp, Puller's unit withdrew and returned to Jinotega on November 27 after three weeks of hard patrolling.

Patrol and Raid against the rebels September 20–26, 1932

Puller discovered a trail which seemed to be used by rebels. Puller, along with Lee, gathered 40 Guardia Nacional members for a raid like patrol against the rebels. Puller, Lee, and the Guardia left on September 20. After traveling a long distance, the patrol came by the northwest from the bank of Auyabal river. On September 26, Puller's patrol was ambushed by the rebels. Lee used a Lewis machine gun to keep the enemy pinned down while the Guardia Nacional worked their way up the slope opposite the rebel ambush party. When they gained the crest, they were able to fire directly into the rebel emplacements. Puller's men penetrated the center of a rebel encampment, killing at least 16 rebels. Of Puller's force, two men were killed and four wounded. In order to obtain medical care for the wounded, Puller immediately withdrew back to Jinotega. During Puller's withdrawal, his patrol was ambushed twice, but suffered no more casualties and fought off the ambushers. Puller's Guardia killed at least eight more rebels. Puller's force arrived back at Jinotega on September 30 after their raid on the rebel encampment.

Final battle in Nicaragua 26 December 1932

There were rumors that Sandinista rebels were planning an attack on a ceremony that was going to commemorate the completion of the León El Sauce railway. An expedition of eight American marines and 64 Nicaraguan National Guardsmen led by Puller were sent to El Sauce on the 26 December 1932. As Puller's force of American marines and Nicaraguan national guard were traveling some distance in their train to their destination, they were ambushed by the rebels from both sides of the tracks. Puller and William A. Lee quickly with their troops immediately engaged the rebel ambushers. After a firefight of one hour and ten minutes, the Marines and Guardia Nacional were able to drive off the rebels. Puller's victorious force had suffered three dead and three wounded for the Guardia Nacional. The rebels suffered thirty one killed and lost 63 live horses to capture by Puller's force. The ceremony went on as planned two days later, while Puller and Lee got promoted.

Aftermath

After his service in Nicaragua, Puller was assigned to the Marine detachment at the American Legation in Beijing, China, commanding a unit of China Marines. He then went on to serve aboard , a cruiser in the Asiatic Fleet, which was commanded by then-Captain Chester W. Nimitz. Puller returned to the States in June 1936 as an instructor at The Basic School in Philadelphia, where he trained Ben Robertshaw, Pappy Boyington, and Lew Walt.

In May 1939, he returned to the ''Augusta'' as commander of the on-board Marine detachment, and then back to China, disembarking in Shanghai in May 1940 to serve as the executive officer and commanding officer of 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines (2/4) until August 1941. Major Puller returned to the U.S. on August 28, 1941. After a short leave, he was given command of 1st Battalion, 7th Marines (1/7) of the 1st Marine Division, stationed at New River, North Carolina (later Camp Lejeune).

World War II

Early in the Pacific theater, the 7th Marines formed the nucleus of the newly created 3rd Marine Brigade and arrived to defend Samoa on May 8, 1942. Later they were redeployed from the brigade and on September 4, 1942, they left Samoa and rejoined the 1st Marine Division at Guadalcanal on September 18, 1942.

Soon after arriving on Guadalcanal, Lt. Col. Puller led his battalion in a fierce action along the Matanikau, in which Puller's quick thinking saved three of his companies from annihilation. In the action, these companies were surrounded and cut off by a larger Japanese force. Puller ran to the shore, signaled a United States Navy destroyer, the , and then directed the destroyer to provide fire support while landing craft rescued his Marines from their precarious position. U.S. Coast Guard Signalman First Class Douglas Albert Munro—Officer-in-Charge of the group of landing craft, was killed while providing covering fire from his landing craft for the Marines as they evacuated the beach and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for the action, to date the only Coast Guardsman to receive the decoration. Puller, for his actions, was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V".

Later on Guadalcanal, Puller was awarded his third Navy Cross, in what was later known as the "Battle for Henderson Field". Puller commanded 1st Battalion, 7th Marines (1/7), one of two American infantry units defending the airfield against a regiment-strength Japanese force. The 3rd Battalion of the U.S. Army's 164th Infantry Regiment (3/164) fought alongside the Marines. In a firefight on the night of October 24–25, 1942, lasting about three hours, 1/7 and 3/164 sustained 70 casualties; the Japanese force suffered over 1,400 killed in action, and the Americans held the airfield. He nominated two of his men (one being Sgt. John Basilone) for Medals of Honor. Puller was wounded himself on November 8, 1942, suffering arm and leg wounds during a Japanese attack on his command post. His injuries were serious, requiring surgery, and command of 1/7 was temporarily assigned to Major John E. Weber of 3/7. Puller was released from the hospital and resumed command of his battalion on November 18.

Puller was then made executive officer of the 7th Marine Regiment. While serving in this capacity at the Battle of Cape Gloucester, Puller was awarded his fourth Navy Cross for overall performance of duty between December 26, 1943, and January 19, 1944. During this time, when the battalion commanders of 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines (3/7) and later, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines (3/5), were under heavy machine gun and mortar fire, he expertly reorganized the battalion and led the successful attack against heavily fortified Japanese defensive positions. He was promoted to colonel effective February 1, 1944, and by the end of the month had been named commander of the 1st Marine Regiment. In September and October 1944, Puller led the 1st Marine Regiment into the protracted battle on Peleliu, one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history, and received his first of two Legion of Merit awards. The 1st Marines under Puller's command lost 1,749 out of approximately 3,000 men, but these losses did not stop Puller from ordering frontal assaults against the well-entrenched enemy. The corps commander had to order the 1st Marine Division commanding general to pull the annihilated 1st Marine Regiment out of the line.

During the summer of 1944, Puller's younger brother, Samuel D. Puller, the executive officer of the 4th Marine Regiment, was killed by an enemy sniper on Guam.

Puller returned to the United States in November 1944, was named executive officer of the Infantry Training Regiment at Camp Lejeune and, two weeks later, commanding officer. After the war, he was made director of the 8th Reserve District at New Orleans