Chesty Puller

Chesty Puller, US general (died 1971)

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Born: June 26, 1898
Died: October 11, 1971
Zodiac sign: Cancer
Birth year: 1898

About Chesty Puller

Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller (June 26, 1898 – October 11, 1971) was a United States Marine Corps officer. Beginning his career fighting guerillas in Haiti and Nicaragua as part of the Banana Wars, he later served with distinction in World War II and the Korean War as a senior officer. By the time of his retirement in 1955, he had reached the rank of lieutenant general. Puller is the most decorated Marine in American history. He was awarded five Navy Crosses and one Distinguished Service Cross. With six crosses, Puller is second behind Eddie Rickenbacker for citations of the nation's second-highest military award for valor. Puller retired from the Marine Corps in 1955, after 37 years of service. He lived in Virginia and died in 1971 at age 73. == 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.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

This skirmish was Puller's first engagement in the occupation and showed his adeptness at aggressive action and effective leadership from the front.
Puller discovered a trail which seemed to be used by rebels.
As Puller had predicted, when the main body of men opened fire at first light, the surprised Cacos bandits fled from the source of immediate danger into the fields of fire of the machine guns, where all seventeen were killed.

The world when Chesty Puller was born

Chesty Puller was born in 1898. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Headlines and milestones

Top headlineSpanish-American War — US gains territories
Technology milestoneMarie & Pierre Curie discover radium
World population~1.58B

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderWilliam McKinley
U.S. population71.0M

1898 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Chesty Puller's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure	1898	2026
Population	71.0M	341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Library of Congress, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

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