Lewis Puller enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1918 at the age of twenty. That day he and the Corps formed a bond that would forever link them together in history. "Chesty" received his nickname for his barrel chest, but he became a legend in his own time while serving valiantly in Haiti, Nicaragua, the Pacific during WW2, and Korea. His record of earning five Navy Crosses for valor has never been matched, nor has his place in Marine Corps history as one of the finest combat officers ever. Good night, Chesty Puller, wherever you are!
Bob Feller was one hell of a ball player and one hell of a patriot. The Hall of Fame pitcher and World War Two hero died today at age 92.
On December 8, 1941, Feller enlisted in the Navy, volunteering immediately for combat service, becoming the first Major League Baseball player to do so following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7. Feller served as Gun Captain aboard the USS Alabama, and missed four seasons during his service in World War II, being decorated with five campaign ribbons and eight battle stars. His bunk is marked on the Alabama at Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, Alabama. Feller is the only Chief Petty Officer in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
God bless you Mr. Feller, RIP sir.
If you want to learn more about Mr. Feller's baseball career CLICK HERE.
Today Staff Sergeant Sal Guinta became the first living member of the United States Military to be awarded the Medal Of Honor since 1976.
President Obama awarded America's highest honor during a White House ceremony in front of Giunta's family members, brothers in arms, and other Medal Of Honor Recipients.
Today I thought we would honor Guinta and the men he served with.
Below are some pictures and links honoring these fine military heroes.
President Obama awarding the Medal Of Honor to Salvatore Giunta.
Giunta's company commander Captain Dan Kearney.
Squad Leader Erick Gallardo was pulled to safety by Giunta. Gallardo was later awarded the Silver Star for heroism.
Giunta pulled Sergeant Joshua Brennan away from his Taliban captures. Brennan later died in the arms of his military brothers. Watch Josh Brennan's tribute video here.
Monument to the fallen heroes of the Korangal Valley. R.I.P.
Sergeant Giunta's Medal Of Honor Ceremony.
This video tells the story of Salvatore Giunta and the men he fought with during the Korangal Valley Ambush.
Today we celebrate and remember the brave men and women who have fought and died for our freedom. We thanks each and everyone of you, from the bottom of our hearts.
Today is also the birthday of General George S. Patton, one of the greatest leaders to ever wear the uniform. God bless you sir and Happy Birthday.
Happy Birthday General, This Cake Is For You And All The Proud Veterans Who Have Served!
I'll leave you today with the words of another great American.
“The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” -- Abraham Lincoln
Even if you don't know who Captain Dale Dye, USMC (Ret.) is -- and you darned well ought to know who he is -- you've seen the actors he's trained and the movies and TV projects he's held to his particular high standards.
When you see an interview or a DVD bonus feature in which the pretty young star of a war movie has complained about their pre-shoot boot camp and how without that boot camp, they never would have been able to get into character, to properly do justice to our men and women in uniform, odds are that that boot camp was run by Captain Dye.
Military advisor on films ranging from "Platoon" to "Saving Private Ryan" to "Band of Brothers" to "Tropic Thunder," Dye has become the go-to veteran for directors ranging from Steven Spielberg to Oliver Stone to Brian DePalma. He doesn't just know his stuff on an intellectual level. He lived it, earning multiple Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam.
His most recent gig was on HBO's "The Pacific," where he put the stars, including James Badge Dale, John Seda and Joe Mazzello, through the paces necessary to do justice to the First Marine Division and their campaign through the Pacific front.
NAVY CROSS (1st Gold Star) Rank and Service: First Lieutenant , U.S. Marine Corps (03158) Organization: Attached to the Nicaraguan National Guard Conflict: Second Nicaraguan Campaign Date of Action: 20 September to 1 October 1932 Place of Action: Nicaragua Authorized by: The Navy Department Board of Decorations and Medals
Citation:First Lieutenant Lewis B. Puller, United States Marine Corps (Captain, Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua) performed exceptionally meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility while in command of a Guardia Patrol from 20 September to 1 October 1932 . Lieutenant Puller and his command of forty Guardia and Gunnery Sergeant William A. Lee, United States Marine Corps, serving as a First Lieutenant in the Guardia, penetrated the isolated mountainous bandit territory for a distance of from eighty to one hundred miles north of Jinotega, his nearest base. This patrol was ambushed on 26 September 1932, at a point northeast of Mount Kilambe by an insurgent force of one hundred fifty in a well-prepared position armed with not less than seven automatic weapons and various classes of small arms and well-supplied with ammunition. Early in the combat, Gunnery Sergeant Lee, the Second in Command was seriously wounded and reported as dead. The Guardia immediately behind Lieutenant Puller in the point was killed by the first burst of fire, Lieutenant Puller, with great courage, coolness and display of military judgment, so directed the fire and movement of his men that the enemy were driven first from the high ground on the right of his position, and then by a flanking movement forced from the high ground to the left and finally were scattered in confusion with a loss of ten killed and many wounded by the persistent and well-directed attack of the patrol. The numerous casualties suffered by the enemy and the Guardia losses of two killed and four wounded are indicative of the severity of the enemy resistance. This signal victory in jungle country, with no lines of communication and a hundred miles from any supporting force, was largely due to the indomitable courage and persistence of the patrol commander. Returning with the wounded to Jinotega , the patrol was ambushed twice by superior forces on 30 September. On both of the occasions the enemy was dispersed with severe losses.
Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta will be the first living member of the United States Military to receive the nations highest award since Vietnam. He will become the eighth service member to receive the Medal of Honor during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The seven previous medals were awarded posthumously.
Born in Clinton, Iowa, on January 21, 1985, in a family of Italian descent, Giunta grew up in Cedar Rapids and Hiawatha. His parents Steve, a medical equipment technician, and Rose, a preschool teacher, live in Hiawatha. He has two younger siblings, a brother Mario and sister Katie. Giunta attended John F. Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids and enlisted in the Army in November 2003. He and his wife Jennifer, a native of Dubuque, dated several years before they were married.
Giunta attended basic training and infantry school at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was first deployed to Afghanistan from March 2005 until March 2006, while his second tour lasted from May 2007 until July 2008. Giunta was promoted to staff sergeant in August 2009 and is currently stationed at Caserma Ederle, the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team's base near Vicenza, Italy. He serves in the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne, but works in a support role for members of his unit currently deployed in Afghanistan.
Sgt. Giunta's other Awards and Medals
In October 2007, Giunta's eight-man squad was moving along a wooded ridgeline in the Korangal valley when at least a dozen Taliban fighters mounted an ambush that was coordinated from three sides at such close range that close air support could not be provided to Giunta's unit. Sergeant Josh Brennan, who was walking point, suffered at least 6 gunshot wounds. Giunta, then a specialist, was the fourth soldier back and was shot in the chest but was saved by his ballistic vest. Another bullet destroyed a weapon slung over his back. Moving, firing and throwing hand grenades, Giunta advanced up the trail to assist Staff Sergeant Erick Gallardo and, later, Specialist Franklin Eckrode, whose M249 machine gun had jammed and who was badly wounded. Continuing up the trail, Giunta saw two Taliban fighters, one of whom was Mohammad Tali (considered a high-value target), dragging Brennan down the hillside and towards the forest. Giunta attacked the insurgents with his M4 carbine, killing Tali, and ran to Brennan to provide cover and comfort until relief arrived.
I ran through fire to see what was going on with him and maybe we could hide behind the same rock and shoot together ... He was still conscious. He was breathing. He was asking for morphine. I said, "You'll get out and tell your hero stories," and he was like, "I will, I will."
Brennan did not survive surgery. According to his father, Michael Brennan, "not only did [Giunta] save [my son] Josh ... He really saved half of the platoon."
On September 10, 2010, the White House announced that Giunta would receive the United States' highest military decoration, the first awarded to a living recipient since the Vietnam War. He is the fourth recipient from the War in Afghanistan, after Navy Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, Army Sergeant First Class Jared C. Monti, and Army Staff Sergeant Robert James Miller.
White House action account
Then-Specialist Salvatore A. Giunta distinguished himself by acts of gallantry at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a rifle team leader with Company B, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry Regiment during combat operations against an armed enemy in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan on October 25, 2007. When an insurgent force ambush split Specialist Giunta's squad into two groups, he exposed himself to enemy fire to pull a comrade back to cover. Later, while engaging the enemy and attempting to link up with the rest of his squad, Specialist Giunta noticed two insurgents carrying away a fellow soldier. He immediately engaged the enemy, killing one and wounding the other, and provided medical aid to his wounded comrade while the rest of his squad caught up and provided security. His courage and leadership while under extreme enemy fire were integral to his platoon's ability to defeat an enemy ambush and recover a fellow American paratrooper from enemy hands. (source wiki )
God Bless You Sgt. Giunta and God Bless all Military Veterans!
NAVY CROSS Rank and Service: First Lieutenant , U.S. Marine Corps (03158) Organization: Attached to the Nicaraguan National Guard Conflict: Second Nicaraguan Campaign Date of Action: 16 February to 19 August 1930 Place of Action: Nicaragua Authorized by: The Navy Department Board of Decorations and Medals
Citation: For distinguished service in the line of his professional while commanding a Nicaraguan National Guard patrol. First Lieutenant Lewis B. Puller, United States Marine Corps, successfully led his forces into five successful engagements against superior numbers of armed bandit forces; namely, at LaVirgen on 16 February 1930, at Los Cedros on 6 June 1930, at Moncotal on 22 July 1930, at Guapinol on 25 July 1930, and at Malacate on 19 August 1930, with the result that the bandits were in each engagement completely routed with losses of nine killed and many wounded. By his intelligent and forceful leadership without thought of his own personal safety, by great physical exertion and by suffering many hardships, Lieutenant Puller surmounted all obstacles and dealt five successive and severe blows against organized banditry in the Republic of Nicaragua.
