Lieutenant General Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller
Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller (June 26, 1898 – October 11, 1971) was a United States Marine Corps lieutenant general and one of the most decorated members of the Marine Corps. Puller is the only Marine and one of two US servicemen to ever be awarded five Navy Crosses. He fought guerrillas in Haiti and Nicaragua, and participated in battles of World War II and the Korean War. Puller retired from the Marine Corps with 37 years service in 1955 and spent the remainder of his life living in Virginia.
Puller received the second highest U.S. military award six times: five Navy Crosses and one U.S. Army Distinguished Service Cross. He was the second of two US servicemen to ever receive five Navy Crosses; US Navy submarine commander Roy Milton Davenport was the first to receive five Navy Crosses.
Puller's military awards include:
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Lt. Gen. "Chesty" Puller was a native of the Middle Peninsula having been born in West Point and lived in Saluda. He was also a parishioner of Christ Church Parish and is buried in our historic cemetery next to his wife Virginia Montague Evans.
Every year, on or around the Marine Corp birthday (November 10th), Marines from Fort Lee and the Naval Weapons Station York Town run in relays from Fort Lee and from Gloucester Point to Christ Church Parish to honor Lt. Gen. Chesty Puller and to celebrate the Marine Corp birthday. Below are YouTube videos of two these runs:
November 9, 2013
Bravo FAST Company
Naval Weapons Station, York Town, Virginia
October 24, 3014
Marines from Fort Lee Virginia
