Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller, is America's Most Decorated Marine.
Puller, a distant cousin to U.S. Army General George S. Patton, was a United States Marine Corp Lieutenant General.
Chesty Puller remains a well known figure in Marine Corps folklore, with both true and exaggerated tales of his experiences being constantly recounted in the U.S. Marine Corps.
A common incantation in Marine Corps boot camp is to end one's day with the declaration, "Good night, Chesty Puller, wherever you are!" Another common encouragement is "Chesty Puller never quit!" In Marine recruit training and OCS cadences, Marines chant "It was good for Chesty Puller/And it's good enough for me".
Chesty is symbolic of the esprit de corps of the Marines. Also, the recruits sing "Chesty Puller was a good Marine and a good Marine was he." Marines, while doing pull-ups, will tell each other to "do one for Chesty!"
Chesty is loved by enlisted men for his constant actions to improve their lot. Puller insisted upon good equipment and discipline; once he came upon a second lieutenant who had ordered an enlisted man to salute him 100 times for missing a salute. Chesty told the lieutenant, "You were absolutely correct in making him salute you 100 times lieutenant, but you know that an officer must return every salute he receives. Now return them all."
While on duty in Hawaii and inspecting the armory, Puller fined himself $100 for discharging a .45 caliber pistol, although the charge for his men was only $20. His sense of fair play was legendary.
Chesty's daughter-in-law, "Toddy", continued this legacy of selfless service in Virginia politics - and, of course, everyone is familiar with her heroic US Marine husband (and Chesty's son) Lewis Burwell Puller, Jr., the author of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize winner "Fortunate Son".
"Good night, Chesty, wherever you are!"
The Military Financial Directory has your best interest at heart when recommending charitable programs for military service members and U.S. military veterans. We do not have any partnerships with these charities and only want to recommend those charities that do their best to help those who have fought for our nation. We are very conscious about linking only to charities which have a clear path for servicemembers and their families to apply for and receive support and, where possible, we have linked directly to the application pages. We do not link merely to "fundraising organizations".
We also recommend charities that help our veterans afford new housing or provide housing for military family members who need to be near loved ones. Fisher House provides housing for military families who need to be near injured loved ones undergoing medical treatment. Another charity we highly recommend is Homes for Our Troops. Their mission statement is to "build mortgage-free, specially adapted homes nationwide for severely injured Veterans post-9/11, to enable them to rebuild their lives," and they deliver beyond all expectations.
The list of charities we can recommend here is much too long to do so. We can barely touch the surface on a subpage like this, which is why all of the charity links in our directory have a short (often too short) description of what they do. The ones above are the ones we have the most experience with and sincerely trust - many of them have been recommended by active members of the Military Forum - though all of the charities we will direct you to are trusted entities that have genuine desire to help our troops and veterans. To see a full list of our recommended charities, please see the first category of The Military Financial Directory.