Who's the Greatest Marine General of All Time?
Is it General Number One, General Number Two or General Number Three?
I am your host, Bruce Wittman, and this is a special edition of Marking History!
Stay to the end of this video so you can vote for Your favorite Marine General of all time.
Here are the markers for three highly decorated Marine Generals.
Each with an incredible story to tell.
So how CAN one determine who is the greatest?
Most Medals of Honor earned?
Most beloved by their men?
or the General affecting the future of the entire Marine Corps?
To help get the discussion rolling, we offer short excerpts from our three Marine General documentaries.
You are welcome to view the full documentaries using the links in the description box below.
But, stay to the end of this video.
Because you will have an opportunity to vote for YOUR favorite Marine General and view the results in real time.
Plus you can add your comments to support your choice for the greatest Marine General of All Time.
Chesty felt every problem had a solution.
Late one night, Chesty deliberately lit his pipe in the open,
then quickly fell and rolled over in the dirt, to draw machine gun fire from an enemy nest.
His own gunners cleaned it out the Japanese machine gun nest by firing at the muzzle flashes.
At the outbreak of the Korean War, Puller was once again assigned as commander of the First Marine Regiment.
It was during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir that Colonel Puller won his fifth Navy Cross for heroism.
Massively outnumbered, Puller was quoted as saying
Puller and his Marines conducted a fighting withdrawal from the Chosin Reservoir
that crippled seven Chinese divisions in the process.
Over the course of his four wars, countless engagements and instances of solid leadership,
he earned over fifty awards and citations, including FIVE Navy Crosses,
and one U.S. Army Distinguished Service Cross and Silver Star.
Although he never was recommended for the Medal of Honor,
the United States' highest award for valor in combat,
he doesn't need one to be considered the most decorated Marine of all time.
As a result of the Veracruz campaign, Congress authorized officers to receive Medals of Honor,
which had formerly been awarded only to enlisted men.
For his actions on April 22, 1914, Major Butler was awarded his first Medal of Honor.
Butler attempted to return his medal, explaining he had done nothing to deserve it.
The Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels, ordered Butler to keep it
and wear it as well, so as not to diminish its merit for those other military men who also received the medal for Veracruz.
The following year, Major Butler was in Haiti, fighting Haitian rebels.
During a battle that lasted less than 20 minutes,
Butler and his Marines took the rebel stronghold and crushed the resistance.
This ended the revolution.
For bravery and forceful leadership as Commanding Officer of detachments of Marines and seamen during this action,
Butler received his second Medal of Honor, as well as the Haitian Medal of Honor.
Major Butler achieved the distinction, shared with Sergeant Major Dan Daly,
of being the only Marines to receive the Medal of Honor twice for separate actions.
By the end of his military career, Major General Smedley Butler had received 16 medals, five for heroism.
He is the only Marine to be awarded the Brevet Medal and two Medals of Honor, all for separate actions.
On July 28, 1918, Major General Lejeune was given command of the entire U.S. Army 2nd Infantry Division.
It was the first time that a Marine officer commanded a Army division in combat.
On the French battlefields, he put the needs of his men over his own.
As an example, he became the first Marine commander to go to the end of the chow line.
- a lasting Marine Corps tradition.
Major General John Lejeune was named Commandant in 1920 - the highest-ranking officer in the U.S Marine Corps.
General Lejeune used his skills as an expert administrator, diplomat and gentle persuader
to keep the Corps funded while protecting the Marines from political plans for absorption into the Navy or Army.
During his service as Commandant, Lejeune presided over what is known as the first enlightenment
of the Marine Corps.
Lejeune drove changes in the organization, training, education, and equipping of Marines
thus transforming them from 19th century colonial naval infantry
into a combined arms amphibious force needed to prevail in World War Two.
Now it's your turn to voice your choice for the Greatest Marine General of All Time.
Select the “Click Here to Vote” box to participate in our YouTube Poll.
And please feel free to support your position with stories, interpretations, annotations, opinions, notes or observations.
Semper Fi!