Chesty Puller by John Wukovits

Author:John Wukovits [Wukovits, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2021-05-18T00:00:00+00:00

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The same day that Puller was wounded, Admiral Halsey arrived from his headquarters on New Caledonia, intent on bolstering morale on Guadalcanal and at home still recovering from Japanese victories that dominated the war’s first half year. Accompanied by Vandegrift, Halsey freely mingled with the infantrymen who gathered around the admiral each time his jeep stopped. Marines responded to Halsey because they sensed, as they did with Puller, that Halsey felt a kinship with privates and corporals.

“On November 8 Admiral Halsey flew in like a wonderful breath of fresh air,” wrote Vandegrift. “During a tour of the area he showed extreme interest and enthusiasm in all phases of the operation, concurring with my existent positions and future plans. More important, he talked to a large number of Marines, saw their gaunt, malaria-ridden bodies, their faces lined from what seemed a nightmare of years.”

Had Puller been able to attend, he would have loved listening to Halsey as he regaled the group of war correspondents that accompanied him. Better than most senior commanders, Halsey knew how to use the press to convey messages to home front readers and, more importantly, to the marines, army infantry, and sailors then in the South Pacific. He relied on brief quotable phrases, many replete with profanity and current wartime stereotypes, to convey his message.

While Puller lay wounded near Gavaga Creek, one correspondent asked Halsey his formula for winning the war. Halsey replied, “Kill Japs, kill Japs and keep on killing Japs.” To wild laughter and applause from marine audiences, Halsey claimed that one of America’s soldiers was the equal of twenty Japanese, and vowed that the enemy’s next move would be a retreat that would not halt until American forces occupied Tokyo.

The next morning—the same day an amtrac brought Puller to the field hospital—Halsey decorated thirteen marine officers and men. The thirteen rejoined the front lines as soon as the ceremony ended, but they returned with praise for their new commander who credited privates and corporals in an attempt to let them know he appreciated their labors. Like Puller, Halsey engendered devotion among his men and forged a bond that built unity of purpose and a willingness to exert extra effort.

That same concern for the men from Puller had enabled his battalion to stage its noteworthy defense of the Henderson Field perimeter. In subsequent months, that unbreakable link would produce additional victories elsewhere in the Pacific.

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