CHESTY PULLER

tugalooriver® · 2025-06-26T17:17:59.484Z

The 4th is near and some will think on VETS, but it aint about that. Vets came after that. One vet was this guy who is venerated here by a great Tnet Vet ~ As Paul Harvey might say, "Here is the rest of the story: "Chesty" 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 for citations of the nation's second-highest military award for valor. Puller retired from the Marine Corps in 1955, after 37 years of service.

ColumbiaTiger66

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Re: CHESTY PULLER

Jun 26, 2025, 3:51 PM

Tug, there's still more to the story of Chesty Puller:

Marines have a reputation for being somewhat Gung Ho and Chesty Puller is certainly part of that lore. But as inspirational to his men as he sometimes was, there were times when he got himself and his men in deep trouble. One of those times was on Peleliu, where he lost about half of his Marines before they were bailed out by an inexperienced/reconstituted 81st Army of "Wildcats" with my father's tanks as support.

Dad was 8th Armored Tank 710th Tank Division and commanded the group of tanks that went ashore with 81st Army (321st RCT) at Angaur, a sister island to Peleliu which McArthur and other intelligence sources believed was more heavily defended than Peleliu. So, Dad's group was considered cannon fodder while the 1st Marine Regiment (Commanded by Chesty Puller) went ashore at Peleliu.

It turned out that intel was wrong and Peleliu was more heavily fortified than Angaur.

Things did not go well for Col. Puller and the 1st Marines on Peleliu. They came close to getting wiped out, with Puller believing that if lower ranking officers were not becoming casualties in large numbers, they weren't being aggressive enough. As a result, Bloody Nose Ridge almost became Col. Puller's Alamo.

Dad's group had Angaur under control in about a month, with the Angaur invasion force taking 264/1,355 (killed/wounded) casualties, Dad being one of the wounded with fragmented sniper round shrapnel in back that was still being periodically removed 25 years later.

I think one of the things that shocked Dad was that even in war there were atrocities that went beyond the bounds of decency. There were two times that he pulled his .45 sidearm on U.S. combatants - once on an officer who was directing artillery practice fire at one of our tanks that was stuck on the beach (not aware that Dad's men were inside) - and a second time when one of his own men was extracting gold teeth from Japanese casualties. Fortunately, he didn't shoot either one.

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/wildcats-ashore/

Dad was patched up and ordered to muster his tanks, get back on the LSTs, reload on the ships and move to Peleliu in order to reinforce what was left of the 1st Marine Regimenet under command of Col. Chesty Puller. Col. Puller's reputation certainly had a somewhat hidden side after his time there.

https://factsanddetails.com/asian/ca67/sub428/entry-5336.html

Without Col. Puller gaining reinforcements (replacements, actually) he likely would not have lived to be named USMC Commandant.

Although my father told me some stories about his time during WW2 and more stories about the good/bad leadership qualities and personalities of Gen. Mueller, Gen. Rupertus and Gen. Geiger, the disappointing thing to me has been not knowing the incredible importance of what is now considered the "Forgotten Battle of the Pacific", lessons from which are used in military training still today (particularly tank tactics and capabilities) when he was alive. In fact, I doubt he ever knew the significance of his contribution to future military organization and training. I would have liked for him to know that the accomplishments of his men is considered remarkable and appreciated.

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CHESTY PULLER

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Ooooo- Rahhhhh

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I worked with this man for 6 or 7 years.

Im Getting Goosebumps Reading This POAST

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