Best Chesty Puller Quotes

Chesty Puller Quotes About Surrounded, Leadership, Old Breed, NJP, Korean War, Brig, Life & Success! During World War II and Korean War, Lewis Burwell “Chesty” Puller served as a lieutenant general in the United States Marine Corps. He holds the title of the most decorated marine in the history of his country. In 1898, he was born in West Point, Virginia, USA. When Puller was ten years old, he lost his father. Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson was one of his heroes in his childhood. Although he never saw combat in World War I, he enlisted in the Marine Corps during its height.

Afterward, he attended Officer Candidates School (OCS). The first time he saw action was in Haiti, and then he was sent to Nicaragua, where he got his first two Navy Crosses. His time in China in the mid-1930s was extensive, and then he backed to the US to instruct. He played one of the most critical roles in America’s decisive victory over the Axis power in the Pacific and Asia during World War II.

Major General Puller served his country equally well during the Korean War. Chesty Puller won a lot of awards over four decades in the Navy. During Nicaragua’s campaign, he received the first two Navy Crosses. Puller also received the Purple Heart for his efforts in the Guadalcanal battle.

He received the Silver Star Medal for his participation in the landing at Inchon on September 15, 1950. He remained in the Marine Corps following the Korean War until retiring in 1955. His long illness led to his death in 1971 when he was 73.

Best Chesty Puller Quotes

1. “They’re on our right, they’re on our left, they’re in front of us, they’re behind us; they can’t get away from us this time.” – Chesty Puller

2. “Paperwork will ruin any military force.” – Chesty Puller

3. “My definition, the definition that I’ve always believed in, is that esprit de corps means love for one’s own military legion – in my case, the United States Marine Corps. It means more than self-preservation, religion, or patriotism. I’ve also learned that this loyalty to one’s corps travels both ways: up and down.” – Chesty Puller

4. “Son, when the Marine Corps wants you to have a wife, you will be issued one.” – Chesty Puller

5. “In the Marine Corps, your buddy is not only your classmate or fellow officer, but he is also the Marine under your command. If you don’t prepare yourself to properly train him, lead him, and support him on the battlefield, then you’re going to let him down. That is unforgivable in the Marine Corps.” – Chesty Puller

6. “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

7. “I’ve always believed that no officer’s life, regardless of rank, is of such great value to his country that he should seek safety in the rear … Officers should be forward with their men at the point of impact.” – Chesty Puller

8. “If you want to get the most out of your men, give them a break! Don’t make them work completely in the dark. If you do, they won’t do a bit more than they have to. But if they comprehend, they’ll work like mad.” – Chesty Puller

9. “Old breed? New breed? There’s not a damn bit of difference so long as it’s the Marine breed.” – Chesty Puller

10. “What the American people want to do is fight a war without getting hurt. You can’t do that anymore than you can get into a barroom fight without getting hurt… Unless the American people are willing to send their sons out to fight an aggressor, there just isn’t going to be any United States.” – Chesty Puller

11. “Retreat! Hell, we’re just attacking in a different direction.” – Chesty Puller

12. “We’re surrounded. That simplifies the problem!” – Chesty Puller

13. “My definition, a definition in the drill books from the time that General Von Steuben wrote the regulations for General George Washington, the definition of the object of military training is a success in battle … It wouldn’t be any sense to have a military organization on the backs of the American taxpayers with any other definition.” – Chesty Puller

14. “You don’t hurt ’em if you don’t hit ’em.” – Chesty Puller

15. “Great. Now we can shoot at those bastards from every direction.” – Chesty Puller

16. “Don’t forget that you’re First Marines! Not all the Communists in hell can overrun you!” – Chesty Puller

17. “Pain is weakness leaving the body.” – Chesty Puller

18. “We make generals today on the basis of their ability to write a damned letter. Those kinds of men can’t get us ready for war.” – Chesty Puller

19. “There are not enough chinamen in the world to stop a fully armed Marine regiment from going where ever they want to go.” – Chesty Puller

20. “If we are going to win the next war, in my opinion, 50 percent of the time of training should be allotted to night training.” – Chesty Puller

21. “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

22. “Alright you bastards, try and shoot me!” – Chesty Puller

23. “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!” – Chesty Puller

24. “Take me to the Brig. I want to see the ‘real Marines.’” – Chesty Puller

25. “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.” – Chesty Puller