I read in the Richmond Times-Dispatch this morning that Chesty Puller is finally going to get a stamp to honor his service to the country - one of the great Virginians of the past century.

I remember General Puller because he went to the same church I attended as a kid - a very tough, gruff and hard, hard looking old man.  He is buried there in the cemtery at Christ Church near Saluda as are my parents.  He also grew up in West Point with my grandfather and his brothers.

I think this is a wonderful development and urge you to buy plenty of these things when they come out.  Not an ex-Marine myself so it brought a tear to my eye when I read that the Marines still call his name at lights out in the barracks.

Quoted: I read in the Richmond Times-Dispatch this morning that Chesty Puller is finally going to get a stamp to honor his service to the country - one of the great Virginians of the past century. I remember General Puller because he went to the same church I attended as a kid - a very tough, gruff and hard, hard looking old man.  He is buried there in the cemtery at Christ Church near Saluda as are my parents.  He also grew up in West Point with my grandfather and his brothers. I think this is a wonderful development and urge you to buy plenty of these things when they come out.  Not an ex-Marine former Marine myself so it brought a tear to my eye when I read that the Marines still call his name at lights out in the barracks.

SEMPER FI CHESTY!

From www.military-quotes.com/chesty-puller.htm.

Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller Quotes
"Paper-work will ruin any military force"
- Lieutenant-General Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller

"You don't hurt 'em if you don't hit 'em."
- Lieutenant-General Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller

When an Army captain asked him for the direction of the line of retreat,
Col Puller called his Tank Commander, gave them the Army position, and ordered:
"If they start to pull back from that line, even one foot, I want you to open fire on them."
Turning to the captain, he replied "Does that answer your question?
We're here to fight." At Koto-ri in Korea
- Chesty Puller at Koto-ri in Korea
(From "Marine: The Life of Chesty Puller" by Burke Davis)

"The mail service has been excellent out here, and in my opinion this is all that the
Air Force has accomplished during the war."
- Chesty Puller in a letter to his wife while in Korea

"Don't forget that you're First Marines! Not all the Communists in hell can overrun you!"
- Chesty Puller motivating his men at Chosin Reservoir

"Our Country won't go on forever, if we stay soft as we are now. There won't
be any AMERICA because some foreign soldiery will invade us and take our
women and breed a hardier race!"
-Lt. Gen. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC

"Take me to the Brig. I want to see the "real Marines". "
Major General Chesty Puller, USMC - while on a Battalion inspection.

"We're surrounded. That simplifies the problem."
- Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC
(I have found three versions of this one)

"All right, they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of
us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time"
- Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC

"They are in front of us, behind us, and we are flanked on both sides by an
enemy that outnumbers us 29:1. They can't get away from us now!"
- Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC
When the Marines were cut off behind enemy lines and the Army had written
the 1st Marine Division off as being lost because they were surrounded by 22
enemy divisions. The Marines made it out inflicting the highest casualty
ratio on an enemy in history and destroying 7 entire enemy divisions in the
process. An enemy division is 16500+ men while a Marine division is 12500 men.

"They are a damn site better than the U.S. Army, at least we know that they
will be there in the morning."
- Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller
when a journalist asked him about being surrounded by 22. enemy divisions

Another Chesty quote:

"How do you put a bayonet on that thing?"
-when shown a flame thrower for the first time

Semper Fi, and Good Night Chesty, wherever you are!

Semper Fi Chesty!

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