Editing Chesty Puller (section)

==Early life==
Puller was born in [[West Point, Virginia]], to Matthew and Martha Puller. Puller was of English ancestry; his ancestors who came to America emigrated to the [[colony of Virginia]] from [[Bedfordshire, England]] in 1621.<ref name="Davisp7">{{Harvnb|Davis|1991|p=7}}</ref> His father was a grocer who died when Puller was 10 years old.  Puller grew up listening to old veterans' tales of the [[American Civil War]] and idolizing [[Stonewall Jackson|Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson]].  He wanted to enlist in the [[United States Army]] to fight in the [[Mexican Border War (1910–1919)|Border War]] with Mexico in 1916, but he was too young and could not get parental consent from his mother.<ref name="Wise">{{cite book | last = Wise| first = James E.|author2=Scott Baron| title =Navy Cross: extraordinary heroism in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other conflicts  | publisher = Naval Institute Press| year = 2007| page =256 | isbn = 978-1-59114-945-3  }}</ref>

The following year, Puller attended the [[Virginia Military Institute]] but left in August 1918 as [[World War I]] was still ongoing, saying that he wanted to "go where the guns are!"<ref name="Dogged Determination">{{Cite book | last = Wilson| first = Diann W.| title =Dogged Determination: Life Experiences and the USMC Bulldog  | publisher = iUniverse | year = 2008 | page = 98 | isbn = 978-0-59545-358-0  }}</ref>  Inspired by the [[5th Marine Regiment|5th Marines]] at [[Battle of Belleau Wood|Belleau Wood]], he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps as a private and attended boot camp at the [[Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island|Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina]].<ref name="Wise"/> Although he never saw action in that war, the Marine Corps was expanding, and soon after graduating he attended its [[non-commissioned officer]] school and [[Officer Candidates School (United States Marine Corps)|Officer Candidates School]] (OCS) at [[Quantico, Virginia]]. Graduating from OCS on June 16, 1919, Puller was appointed [[second lieutenant]] in the [[Military reserve force|reserves]],<ref>{{Harvnb|Hoffman|2001|p=[https://archive.org/details/chestystoryoflie00hoff/page/24/mode/2up 24]}}</ref> but the reduction in force from 73,000 to 1,100 officers and 27,400 men following the war led to his being put on inactive status 10 days later and given the rank of corporal.<ref name="Wise" />