This episode of the Hard Man podcast is brought to you by backwards planning financial,

Armored Republic, Keepwise Partners, Mount Athos, Resurrection Design Company,

and our supporters at patreon.com. On June 25th, 1950, the United States Marine Corps was called upon again to go to war. They were called to Korea.

The first Marine division needed to be quickly restored to combat footing from the short break

since World War II. Major General O.P. Smith hand-picked what some consider to be the greatest

leatherneck in history to do the job.

This man's name was Lewis B. Puller. However, most Marines know him as chesty puller.

Some say that he earned his nickname due to his perfect posture and that his chest resembled

a full-sized beer keg of lead brick, raw muscle, and horse steroids.

Other accounts say that his original chest had been shot away, and his new chest was a steel

plate.

Chessie Puller was fiercely loyal to his men.

His motto was, lead by example, and proved that it was not an empty slogan.

He would deny the comforts that came

with his officer's rank in order to stay with his men. He would carry his own mesquier, pack,

and betting roll while marching in the lead of his battalion. He slept where his men slept and

ate where they ate. So when he was tasked with leading the first Marines into battle, he led in a

manner that furthered his legendary status. After Chesdy and his men had been dispatched to a remote

area in North Korea to search for the enemy, they had just set up camp near Chosen Reservoir

when suddenly the Chinese People's Liberation Army surrounded their position.

Journalists in the Marine camp confronted Chesty demanding to know what he planned to do.

Chestery calmly replied,

...