Aside from repeating his accomplishments over and over in bootcamp ("Only Marine to be awarded five Navy Crosses, Sir!"), the closest I had ever been to anything relating to Chesty Puller was the night-time prayer I'd say to him as I crept into my sleeping bag, beneath foreign stars.
That was until I met Daniel Fruchter, an Army World War 2 vet who says he personally coordinated artillery fire for Chesty during Guadalcanal.
Apparently Fruchter tried to tell Chesty once that firing artillery at Danger Close range might get him court marshaled.
Chesty didn't respond well.
Hear the rest:
Produced by Daniel Goodman and Geoffrey Ingersoll
"Goodnight, Chesty, wherever you are."— Marine Corps
SEE ALSO: Pearl Harbor Vet Tells Us How He Survived One Of The Worst Attacks In US History
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