Chesty Puller's going back to Sea!
Sea Waves said:
San Diego November 5, 2013 - General Dynamics NASSCO today hosted a keel laying ceremony for the USNS Lewis B. Puller, the third ship in the Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) class. The ship is named in honor of Lewis B. Puller, the most decorated U.S. Marine in history and the only one to be awarded five Navy Crosses. Mrs. Elizabeth Glueck was the honoree for the keel-laying ceremony. She is the wife of Lieutenant General Kenneth J. Glueck, Jr., deputy commandant for Combat Development and Integration; commanding general, Marine Corps Combat Development Command; and commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Strategic Command.
Mrs. Glueck validated the ship’s keel by welding her initials onto a steel plate which will be permanently affixed to the ship, remaining with the vessel throughout its time in service.
MLP-3 is the first ship of the class to be configured as an Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB). Delivery is scheduled for the second quarter of 2015.
“This third Mobile Landing Platform ship, configured as an AFSB, will provide significant new capability to the Navy and Marine Corps’ Maritime Prepositioning Force,” said Fred Harris, president of General Dynamics NASSCO. “The NASSCO team will continue to efficiently build and deliver these ships to help strengthen the forward presence of the Navy.”
The MLP AFSB is a flexible platform and a key element in the Navy’s large-scale airborne mine countermeasure mission. The ship is designed to facilitate a wide variety of future mission sets in support of special operations. With accommodations for 250 personnel and a huge helicopter flight deck, the MLP AFSB will provide a highly capable and affordable asset to the Navy and Marine Corps.
The man for whom this ship is named is a legend, plain and simple.
Chesty Puller enlisted for World War I but the war ended before he saw combat. He served in Haiti fighting the Caco rebels after Wolrd War I, fighting in over 40 engagements against them. He served in Nicarauga in 1930 and due to his leading in five engagements against forces far superior to his own, and winning, he was awarded his first Navy Cross (the Navy cross is just a slight step below the Medal of Honor). Two years later, back in Nicaruaga, serving once again in the heat of combat, he was awarded a second Navy cross.
In World War II, he commanded and fought bravely at Guadalcanal, Peleliu, and other places throughout the war. During his combat in the Pacific, he was awarded two more Navy Crosses and numerous other awards.
When war broke out in Korea, Chesty Puller was called on again. In intense combat on the Korean pennisnula he was awarded his fifth Navy cross and a Silver Star. While in Korea he was promoted to Brigadier General.
After the Korean War he was promoted first to to Lt. General and then later to Major General before retiring in 1955. He died in 1971.
All in all, he earned all of the following major awards:
- Bronze Star with Valor
- Silver Star
- Distinguished Service Cross (Awarded to him by the U.S. Army)
- Legion of Merit (Twice)
- The Navy Cross (Five times!)
He is the only person in the entire history of the U.S. Marines to earn the Navy cross five times.
1st Lt. Puller (Middle Left) in 1931 in Nicaruaga
Major Puller on Guadalcanal in 1942
Colonel Puller surveying a battle field in Korea in 1950
Chesty Puller as a Major General before his retirement in 1955
Some rich tradition with this one boys. IMHO, Chesty Puller's name should be attached to the third America Class LHA, he is more than deserving of that. But this will do.
