Editing Chesty Puller (section)

==World War II==
[[File:PullerGuadalcanal.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Lieutenant Colonel Puller on Guadalcanal in September 1942]]
Early in the [[Pacific War|Pacific theater]], the 7th Marines formed the nucleus of the newly created [[3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (United States)|3rd Marine Brigade]] and arrived to defend [[American Samoa]] on May 8, 1942.  Later they were redeployed from the brigade and on September 4, 1942, they left American Samoa and rejoined the 1st Marine Division at [[Guadalcanal]] on September 18, 1942.

Soon after arriving on Guadalcanal, Lt. Col. Puller led his battalion in a fierce [[Action along the Matanikau (September 1942)|action along the Matanikau]], in which Puller's quick thinking saved three of his companies from annihilation.  In the action, these companies were surrounded and cut off by a larger [[Imperial Japanese Army|Japanese force]].  Puller ran to the shore, signaled a United States Navy destroyer, the {{USS|Monssen|DD-436}}, and then directed the destroyer to provide fire support while landing craft rescued his Marines from their precarious position.<ref name="Davis1991"/> [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard]] Signalman First Class [[Douglas Albert Munro]]—Officer-in-Charge of the group of landing craft, was killed while providing covering fire from his landing craft for the Marines as they evacuated the beach and was posthumously awarded the [[Medal of Honor]] for the action, to date the only Coast Guardsman to receive the decoration. Puller, for his actions, was awarded the [[Bronze Star Medal]] with [[Combat "V"]].

Later on Guadalcanal, Puller was awarded his third Navy Cross, in what was later known as the "[[Battle for Henderson Field]]".  Puller commanded 1st Battalion, 7th Marines (1/7), one of two American infantry units defending the [[airfield]] against a [[regiment]]-strength Japanese force. The 3rd Battalion of the U.S. Army's 164th Infantry Regiment (3/164) fought alongside the Marines.  In a [[Battle|firefight]] on the night of October 24–25, 1942, lasting about three hours, 1/7 and 3/164 sustained 70 casualties; the Japanese force suffered over 1,400 killed in action, and the Americans held the airfield. He nominated two of his men (one being Sgt. [[John Basilone]]) for Medals of Honor. Puller was wounded himself on November 8, 1942, during the Battle of Koli Point, suffering arm and leg wounds during a Japanese attack on his command post. His injuries were serious, requiring surgery, and command of 1/7 was temporarily assigned to Major John E. Weber of 3/7.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hoffman|2001|p=[https://archive.org/details/chestystoryoflie00hoff/page/202/mode/2up 202]}}</ref> Puller was released from the hospital and resumed command of his battalion on November 18.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hoffman|2001|p=207}}</ref>

Puller was then made [[executive officer]] of the [[7th Marine Regiment (United States)|7th Marine Regiment]]. While serving in this capacity at the [[Battle of Cape Gloucester]], Puller was awarded his fourth Navy Cross for overall performance of duty between December 26, 1943, and January 19, 1944. During this time, when the battalion commanders of [[3rd Battalion, 7th Marines]] (3/7) and later, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines (3/5), were under heavy machine gun and mortar fire, he expertly reorganized the battalion and led the successful attack against heavily fortified Japanese defensive positions. He was promoted to colonel effective February 1, 1944, and by the end of the month had been named commander of the 1st Marine Regiment.  In the summer of 1944, Puller's younger brother, Samuel D. Puller, the [[executive officer]] of the [[4th Marine Regiment (United States)|4th Marine Regiment]], would be killed by an enemy sniper on Guam.

=== Battle of Peleliu ===
In September and October 1944, Puller led the 1st Marine Regiment into the protracted battle on [[Battle of Peleliu|Peleliu]], one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history, and received his first of two [[Legion of Merit]] awards. The 1st Marines under Puller's command lost 1,749 killed and wounded out of approximately 3,000 men, but these losses did not stop Puller from ordering frontal assaults against the well-entrenched enemy. He would come under significant criticism for not asking for reinforcements when both he and his regiment were at the point of exhaustion. When the Corps commander, General Roy Geiger visited Puller's command post, he found Puller, shirtless, with a corncob pipe in his mouth and a badly swollen leg that had originally been injured on Guadalcanal but swollen to twice its size. Colonel William Coleman, a member of the corps staff, had the impression that Puller was completely exhausted both mentally and physically. “He was unable to give a very clear picture of what his situation was.” When Geiger asked him if he needed reinforcements and Puller “stated that he was doing alright with what he had.” This was a crucial moment when Puller could have asked for the help that he so badly needed. But like the division commander, General Rupertus, Puller could not bring himself ask for help from U.S. Army units held in reserve. General [[Robert_E._Cushman_Jr.|Robert Cushman]] believed that while Puller was a great combat leader, his aggressive nature limited his understanding of combat to launching constant attacks, regardless of the circumstances. <ref>{{Citation | last = McManus | first = John | title = Fatal Pride at Peleliu| website = warfarehistorynetwork.com | pages = 10 | date = April 2012 | url = https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/fatal-pride-at-peleliu/ | access-date = June 3, 2024 }}</ref> As a result of the strain on both Puller and his regiment, Geiger ordered Rupertus to pull the all but annihilated 1st Marine Regiment out of the line as they were no longer combat-effective. Within days, the other two regiments would also be withdrawn from the island and replaced by three Army regiments who would also be eventually pulled out. <ref>{{cite book|title=Gooch's Marines|last=Giaffo|first=Lou|isbn=9781434933997 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mXcTGInloHkC|year=2013|publisher=Dorrance Publishing Company, Incorporated|page=132}}</ref>

=== Return to the U.S. ===
Puller returned to the United States in November 1944, was named executive officer of the Infantry Training Regiment at Camp Lejeune and, two weeks later, commanding officer.  After the war, he was made director of the 8th Reserve District at [[New Orleans]], and later commanded the Marine barracks at Pearl Harbor.