Lewis 'Chesty' Puller: Going Where The Guns Are | Teen Ink

Lewis 'Chesty' Puller: Going Where The Guns Are

September 9, 2012
By Honour SILVER, New London, Connecticut
Honour SILVER, New London, Connecticut
9 articles 0 photos 181 comments

Favorite Quote:
Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. ~John 15:13<br /> <br /> &quot;Give me liberty or give me death!&quot; ~Patrick Henry<br /> <br /> Be brave and steadfast; have no fear or dread of them, for it is the Lord, your God, who marches with you; he will never fail you or forsake you. ~ Deuteronomy 31:6<br /> <br /> &quot;I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery&quot; ~ Thomas Jefferson


I sit in class, pretending to pay attention to our history teacher. My eyes search the room for Lewis. I spot him listening intently to the lesson. Of course he is; this lesson is about Stonewall Jackson. Honestly, I don’t see Lewis’s fascination with the guy. Yes, Stonewall Jackson had guts, but seriously? His own team shot his arm, he had to have his arm amputated, he contracted pneumonia, and then he died …not exactly how I’d want to go down in history. My foot taps against the floor, my impatience growing as the time drags on. I need to tell him about my brother, who’d just returned from fighting in France. He served in the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. Knowing that Lewis would like to listen to Francesco’s adventures too. I’d told him to wait until Lewis and I could leave school together for him to tell us the stories. Finally the bell rings and I jump up and grab my books.
“Lewis!” I call following him out of the room, “Lewis,” I say again as I catch up to him in the hall.
“Yes, Liborio, what is it?” he asks looking at me with dark eyes that seemed to command authority.
“Francesco is home. He just returned from France last night!” I announce excitedly.
Lewis’s eyes gleam and flash with joy. “That’s great, Liborio! Did he say anything about the battles he was in?” he asks.
“No, he hasn’t. I told him to wait until I could get you to come and listen,” I explain. Lewis nods.
“Alright, I’ll see you two after school. Bye!” Lewis said leaving for his next class.
Pacing the parade ground in front of the school’s main building I await Lewis and Francesco to arrive. The cadets had retired the flag, and school was over, so they should be here soon. I run my finger along the collar of my uniform, pulling it away from my neck nervously. I look around now and then, trying to see if my brother or friend is coming; I look at my watch, and look up again. Finally, I spot Lewis walking across the parade grounds. When he sees me he jogs over.
“Where’s Francesco?” he asks.
“Coming, he’ll be here soon,” I say quickly.
“This better be good, Liborio, or else. If I don’t keep my grades up the school will kick me out,” Lewis mutters.
“You think I don’t know that? Lewis, if this wasn’t going to be good, I’d be studying right now. I don’t want VMI to boot be either. I just think this is way better than sitting up late staring at text books,” I snap.

Lewis looks around. “There he is!” he exclaims.
Pointing, I see Francesco running towards us,
“Hey little brother and Lewis,” Francesco said. We go and sit on a near by bench.
“Where were you this time?” Lewis asks my brother excitedly,
“Belleau wood. The 5th Marines and some of the 6th had to march 10 kilometers after the Germans punched through the French lines. We did it, and 4 days later we got attacked by the Germans., Francesco explained. He launched into an explanation of the battle, detailing the fight, vividly describing the deaths of the men around him. Francesco chokes up as he describes some of his buddies dying. Lewis and I listened with rapt attention to every detail, taking it all in. With Lewis getting more jittery as the time went on, I could tell he was excited.

As we walked back from the parade grounds we were silent, thinking of Francesco’s explanation of the battle. With voice impassioned yet firm, Lewis finally spoke up,
“I want to go where the guns are, Liborio, I don’t want to sit and study for the whole war! I couldn’t fight in Mexico ‘cause I was too young, but I am not sitting this one out!”
“What do you plan to do?”, I ask him.
“You’ll see,” Lewis says. We say good night and head home for the night.

The next day, I can’t find Lewis at school at all. I went to talk to the principal about Lewis’s disappearance.
“Lewis Puller dropped out to enlist in the Marines,” the principal tells to me. Leaving his office I smile, and shake my head that’s what Lewis meant about wanting to go where the guns are.

A few weeks later I got a letter from Lewis. He says he is deploying to Haiti, having graduated from OCS a fortnight ago. Smiling, I lay the letter down on my desk and returned to studying for my exam. My buddy Lewis Puller is a Marine and an officer at that. His wish is now true- he is going where the guns are.


The author's comments:
This is a piece I wrote after the TI user Wafuleez gave me the idea to write a historical fiction piece about a famous person and how they became inspired. And Thanks to Wafuleez who did the first proof0read and to my dad who helped me by proofreading it multiple times for you, I give you this fiction story. Sit back and enjoy, 'cause Lewis Puller fought to keep you free!!!

I'd like o send a personal thank you out to all who have served, are serving, and will serve this excellent country!

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This article has 16 comments.


Honour SILVER said...
on Apr. 18 2013 at 9:03 pm
Honour SILVER, New London, Connecticut
9 articles 0 photos 181 comments

Favorite Quote:
Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. ~John 15:13<br /> <br /> &quot;Give me liberty or give me death!&quot; ~Patrick Henry<br /> <br /> Be brave and steadfast; have no fear or dread of them, for it is the Lord, your God, who marches with you; he will never fail you or forsake you. ~ Deuteronomy 31:6<br /> <br /> &quot;I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery&quot; ~ Thomas Jefferson

Ahhh, I see now, thanks for pointing that out!  Sorry I made it confusing.

on Apr. 18 2013 at 6:40 pm
Murcielago SILVER, Bartonville, Texas
5 articles 11 photos 11 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Follow Me!&quot;-11C Mortarmen<br /> &quot;We bring our own rain.&quot;-11C<br /> &quot;A CADET WILL NOT LIE, CHEAT, NOR STEAL, NOR TOLERATE THOSE WHO DO SARGEANT!&quot;-VMI Cadets<br /> &quot;I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.&quot;<br /> &quot;They will teach, and YOU WILL LEARN!&quot;

“Belleau wood. The 5th Marines and some of the 6th had to march 10 kilometers after the Germans punched through the French lines. We did it, and 4 days later we got attacked by the Germans., Francesco explained. He launched into an explanation of the battle, detailing the fight, vividly describing the deaths of the men around him. Francesco chokes up as he describes some of his buddies dying. Lewis and I listened with rapt attention to every detail, taking it all in. With Lewis getting more jittery as the time went on, I could tell he was excited.    during this, there is no indication that he stopped talking which confused me slightly :)

Honour SILVER said...
on Apr. 18 2013 at 6:13 pm
Honour SILVER, New London, Connecticut
9 articles 0 photos 181 comments

Favorite Quote:
Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. ~John 15:13<br /> <br /> &quot;Give me liberty or give me death!&quot; ~Patrick Henry<br /> <br /> Be brave and steadfast; have no fear or dread of them, for it is the Lord, your God, who marches with you; he will never fail you or forsake you. ~ Deuteronomy 31:6<br /> <br /> &quot;I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery&quot; ~ Thomas Jefferson

OK, one thing, he joined the Marine Corps(there's difference. :-P)  Adn yes Lewis 'Chesty' Puller is a famous Marine, he earned 5 Navy Crosses(the most a Marine has ever earned, he's one of teh highest decorated Marines) And I see what you mean by context, but I did say that Francesco had just coem from fighting in Belleau Wood, a WWI battle, though I see how that isn't too much of a clue.   And the events are semi-historical, Lewis 'Chesty' Puller did drop out of VMI and go into the Marines after hearing about the fighting the did Marines in Belleau Wood..so yeah.  Thanks for the help!

Honour SILVER said...
on Apr. 18 2013 at 6:05 pm
Honour SILVER, New London, Connecticut
9 articles 0 photos 181 comments

Favorite Quote:
Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. ~John 15:13<br /> <br /> &quot;Give me liberty or give me death!&quot; ~Patrick Henry<br /> <br /> Be brave and steadfast; have no fear or dread of them, for it is the Lord, your God, who marches with you; he will never fail you or forsake you. ~ Deuteronomy 31:6<br /> <br /> &quot;I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery&quot; ~ Thomas Jefferson

What errors?  Please expand on so I can know what to do better next time. :-D

on Apr. 18 2013 at 4:00 pm
Murcielago SILVER, Bartonville, Texas
5 articles 11 photos 11 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Follow Me!&quot;-11C Mortarmen<br /> &quot;We bring our own rain.&quot;-11C<br /> &quot;A CADET WILL NOT LIE, CHEAT, NOR STEAL, NOR TOLERATE THOSE WHO DO SARGEANT!&quot;-VMI Cadets<br /> &quot;I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.&quot;<br /> &quot;They will teach, and YOU WILL LEARN!&quot;

I really enjoyed the story! There were some errors through the story here and there but the idea was awesome :)

CammyS SILVER said...
on Apr. 11 2013 at 7:55 pm
CammyS SILVER, Papillion, Nebraska
5 articles 0 photos 188 comments

Favorite Quote:
No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else&#039;s draft. <br /> H. G. Wells <br /> Don&#039;t say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream. <br /> Mark Twain

I thought it was really good and you made Lewis's motivation really clear. I felt the only problem was the lack of historical context. Though the writing was really good, it felt like Lewis could be anyone who wanted to join the army. If you explained what war they were fighting and who Lewis was when he was famous (he was famous, right? Or is he not? I've never heard of him, but I haven't heard of a lot of famous people) then that might help. Oh, and for more emotional connection, showing what Francesco told Lewis instead of telling, at least for part of it, would help considerably  Other than that, a great story about soldiers before they join the army.

on Dec. 29 2012 at 8:52 pm
Claudia.VII BRONZE, N/A, California
2 articles 0 photos 51 comments

Favorite Quote:
\&quot;Let them eat cake.\&quot; -Marie Antoinette.<br /> \&quot;Genius is born-- not paid.\&quot; -Oscar Wilde.<br /> \&quot;Press the button, we\&#039;ll do the rest.\&quot; -George Eastman<br /> \&quot;If you\&#039;re going through hell, keep on going.\&quot; - Winston Churchill

Brilliantly done! I'm feeling more patriotic already. No, in all serious, it really was a tale that provided a power behind it. You made war sound romantic (and in that, I mean adventurous), which is a hard feat to do considering authors usually only cluck about the aftermath of blood and gore. Some people forget that for others, this isn't just some child's dream for glory, they know full-well what they're getting into, and they're not throwing their lives away, but they also have a pride in it. And if they have a spirit for it, who am I to tell them no, pacifist that I am? It would be like people downing my own passion as an author, telling me that it's never going to happen because a mere child, nonetheless a girl, can never hope to aspire to the levels of the greats. If they have passion, I say let them fight, as long as it's for a real cause and not just a bunch of politicians sitting up there and swapping countries and titles like trading cards.

on Oct. 30 2012 at 6:09 pm
thegoldenllama BRONZE, Cupertino, California
2 articles 0 photos 30 comments

Favorite Quote:
猿も木から落ちる。

Wow, moving! Well written! I really like the characters' patriotism and enthusiasm, adds a nice touch to their depths and the overall plot was really interesting!! Fabulous-o, bravo. :)

on Oct. 28 2012 at 12:54 pm
Snowflakes SILVER, Lichfield, Other
6 articles 0 photos 91 comments

Favorite Quote:
I&#039;m afraid so. You&#039;re entirely bonkers. But I&#039;ll tell you a secret. All the best people are. - Alice In Wonderland

This is really nice :) It is very inspirping as to showing why people fight for their countries, and how school isn't the only thing that can get you far. 
I have a lot of respect for you writing this :) well done! 

on Oct. 26 2012 at 12:38 pm
GuardianoftheStars GOLD, Shongaloo, Louisiana
17 articles 0 photos 495 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Let&#039;s tell young people the best books are yet to be written; the best painting, the best government, the best of everything is yet to be done by them.&quot;<br /> -John Erslcine

Powerful. It really makes one stop and think about those brave men/woment who are fighting and what they've been through/ going through. Thank you for this.

on Oct. 23 2012 at 1:20 pm
HeatherOlivia GOLD, Solothurn, Other
16 articles 0 photos 86 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;All things truly wicked start from innocence.&quot; - Ernest Hemingway

Really detailed and inspiring! I especially like the detail put in, like when you said about the uniform collar and there is some real feeling in this piece. Nice job! Keep writing!

on Sep. 26 2012 at 8:40 pm
Pargaran SILVER, New Glasgow, Other
6 articles 3 photos 123 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Be who you are, and say what you feel. Because those who mind don&#039;t matter, and those who matter don&#039;t mind.&quot; <br /> -Dr. Seuss

Wow - your writing is really well done!
Could you check out mine too?
TeenInk.com/poetry/free_verse/article/491313/Autumn-Wish/

Athim BRONZE said...
on Sep. 26 2012 at 8:00 pm
Athim BRONZE, Oak Creek, Wisconsin
2 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;If live gives you lemons throw them people you dont like. There problems solved.&quot;

I really enjoyed this nice work. :)

on Sep. 26 2012 at 7:40 pm
deepoceanblue PLATINUM, Syracuse, Utah
27 articles 0 photos 27 comments
Good Job! :)

on Sep. 26 2012 at 2:16 pm
Special-Ice-Apples GOLD, Pinedale, Arizona
15 articles 0 photos 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Love is just a word until someone special comes along and gives it a meaning.&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;I love walking in the rain, &#039;cause then no one can tell I&#039;m crying.&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain.&quot;

Wow...that was really good, Live! I;m (no offense) really shocked. The feeling put into this was amazing.

on Sep. 25 2012 at 7:31 pm
I-Love-EDM SILVER, Hamilton, New Jersey
6 articles 0 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
Pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore, trust the physician. Drink from its cup of remedy in silence and tranquility.

nice bro good