Chesty Puller

The dramatic battlefield story Chesty Puller, Marine hero of World War II

In 1942, when Chesty Puller first stepped foot onto Guadalcanal in America’s first major land campaign against Japan, he had already served two remarkable decades as a US Marine. Yet it was on that Pacific island where the Puller legend would come to life. For months, Chesty and his Marines fought the Japanese in close-up jungle combat, at times resorting to bayonets and even fists. During the Battle for Henderson Field, Puller’s Marines held off wave after wave of enemy attackers over the course of three consecutive nights. His courage under fire and unbreakable devotion to his men inspired not just those under his own command but Marines everywhere. As the war marched on, one bloody battle after another, from Guadalcanal to Peleliu, Chesty became the most decorated Marine in US history. Now, acclaimed military historian John Wukovits, author of Pacific Alamo, tells the story of Chesty Puller’s incredible valor and combat leadership in the Pacific War.