Who the best known Marine of all time?

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 11:11:39 -0500

Of all Marines that ever served which is best known?

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 1 at 2018 11:12 AM

SCPO Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 11:12:52 -0500

Chesty, bar none.

Response by LCpl Shane Couch made Feb 1 at 2018 11:14 AM

LCpl Shane Couch — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 11:14:56 -0500

Top 3 in this order.

1. 'Chesty' Puller
2. Dan Daily
3. James 'Mad Dog' Mattis

Response by SPC David Willis made Feb 1 at 2018 11:17 AM

SPC David Willis — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 11:17:26 -0500

You usually think of officers like Chesty, of enlisted Id say Basilone, Marines knew him before The Pacific came out but that really put him in a lot more folks minds.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 1 at 2018 11:27 AM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 11:27:52 -0500

LTC Private RallyPoint Member We went to sleep every night in Boot Camp, saying "Good Night Chesty Puller."

Response by Cpl Scott McCarroll made Feb 1 at 2018 11:45 AM

Cpl Scott McCarroll — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 11:45:12 -0500

I am going to remind of one that tanks high, however I agree with Chesty, however let's not forget,
Cool. John Glen.
Semper Fi

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 1 at 2018 11:45 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 11:45:50 -0500

Chesty Puller, "Manila John" Basilone, Dan Daily, and Smedley Butler are the ones that I always heard about the most as a young Marine.

Response by Cpl Scott McCarroll made Feb 1 at 2018 11:45 AM

Cpl Scott McCarroll — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 11:45:50 -0500

I hate auto correct

Response by SGT Tony Clifford made Feb 1 at 2018 12:01 PM

SGT Tony Clifford — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 12:01:40 -0500

Probably 'Chesty' Puller or 'Mad Dog' Mattis. Basilone is pretty well known too.

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 1 at 2018 12:02 PM

CW2 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 12:02:53 -0500

Outside of military circles, my guess for the general public would be R. Lee 'Gunny' Ermey.

Response by SPC Robert Coventry made Feb 1 at 2018 12:37 PM

SPC Robert Coventry — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 12:37:54 -0500

Carlos Hathcock "White Feather" maybe just because I went to Sniper School, he had 93 confirmed> He crawled for 3 days to move 2000 meters. But, i will defer to my Devil Dog buddies on the list and go with Chesty Puller (a 5'7 " Bad A$$). He is still the most decorated Marine

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 1 at 2018 12:41 PM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 12:41:44 -0500

Response by Col Jim Harmon made Feb 1 at 2018 12:55 PM

Col Jim Harmon — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 12:55:59 -0500

Sergeant Major Dan Daly.

Sergeant Major Daly should have earned his third Medal of Honor for his actions during WWI at the Battle of Belleau Wood. He is perhaps best known for this engagement, when he uttered those famous words, “Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?”

The award was downgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross because Sergeant Major Daly already possessed two Medals of Honor from preceding wars.

Sergeant Major Daly earned his first Medal of Honor during the Boxer Rebellion for single-handedly defending his position against repeated enemy attacks. He is reported to have killed or wounded nearly 200 attacking Chinese.

Sergeant Major Daly’s second Medal of Honor was awarded for his actions during the Invasion and Occupation of Haiti, when his unit was ambushed. Daly led a group of 35-41 Marines in a counter attack against nearly 400 Haitian rebels.

When Daly was recommended for his third award, politics came into play as it was believed, that no one could possibly deserve three Medals of Honor. Anyone who believed that, had never met Sergeant Major Daly and had never seen him fight. Three separate wars, three separate actions, the third award should not have been downgraded.

Major General Butler (also a Medal of Honor recipient) described Sergeant Major Daly as, "The fightin'est Marine I ever knew!"

Sergeant Major Daily is the epitome of what all Marines should strive to be.

Response by Sgt William Biggs made Feb 1 at 2018 1:05 PM

Sgt William Biggs — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 13:05:04 -0500

I would say Chesty Puller, but General Mattis is quickly becoming a legend of equal calibre.

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Feb 1 at 2018 1:27 PM

MCPO Roger Collins — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 13:27:42 -0500

John Wayne?

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 1 at 2018 1:28 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 13:28:24 -0500

I'm going to agree with Chesty and Mattis and add Carlos Hathcock.. we could also possibly say Lee Harvey Oswold, and Charles Whitman.

We could probably also include Drew Carey, Bea Arthur, Gene Hackman, Don Imus, Oliver North, and Ted Williams, among others.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 1 at 2018 1:56 PM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 13:56:06 -0500

Of course, Chesty Puller is the most well known. Ask any Marine.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 1 at 2018 2:23 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 14:23:15 -0500

Every night before we hit the rack in Boot!
“Good night, Chesty, wherever you are”

Response by SP5 Peter Keane made Feb 1 at 2018 2:30 PM

SP5 Peter Keane — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 14:30:29 -0500

Ira Hayes ?

Response by SGT Dave Tracy made Feb 1 at 2018 2:48 PM

SGT Dave Tracy — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 14:48:38 -0500

You could probably have broken that down to who's the best known inside the military and best known outside the military.

Response by TSgt David L. made Feb 1 at 2018 2:56 PM

TSgt David L. — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 14:56:22 -0500

Great topic. All of the Marines I went to school with, and taught with, all spoke reverently of Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller. Tough to argue with that one.
SPC Robert Coventry brought up Carlos Hathcock, one of my favorites. Which made me think of Charles Benjamin "Chuck" Mawhinney. Another one of my favorites. For you non-shooters, these guys are a couple of the Corps preeminent snipers of Vietnam. Mawhinney remained silent about his accomplishments for years and was content to do so. A truly silent Hero.

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 1 at 2018 3:17 PM

CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 15:17:57 -0500

Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller.

Response by PO1 Scott Cottrell made Feb 1 at 2018 5:17 PM

PO1 Scott Cottrell — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 17:17:36 -0500

Chesty Puller is always the first Marine I think of.

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Feb 1 at 2018 5:45 PM

SFC Michael Hasbun — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 17:45:16 -0500

General Mattis, followed by Chesty...

Response by Cpl Mark McMiller made Feb 1 at 2018 8:48 PM

Cpl Mark McMiller — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 20:48:00 -0500

Chesty Puller. Jim Mattis has a pretty big fan club too.

Response by LTJG Richard Bruce made Feb 1 at 2018 11:24 PM

LTJG Richard Bruce — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 23:24:14 -0500

Shazam

Response by Sgt Randy Wilber made Feb 2 at 2018 1:13 AM

Sgt Randy Wilber — Fri, 02 Feb 2018 01:13:15 -0500

Chesty Puller of course

Response by Sgt Tee Organ made Feb 2 at 2018 8:31 AM

Sgt Tee Organ — Fri, 02 Feb 2018 08:31:27 -0500

For me it was Top Gilbert. This guy spent upwards of 40 years in the Corps and he's something of a legend among our MOS community. A close second would have been Top Garret, his career spanned Korea, Veit Nam and then Desert Storm. very quiet personality but well respected and when he did say something people stop to hear it because if you didn't it usually cost you some heartache.

Response by Sgt Tee Organ made Feb 2 at 2018 8:39 AM

Sgt Tee Organ — Fri, 02 Feb 2018 08:39:40 -0500

I Seem to remember hearing it was Archibald Henderson "grand old man of the Marine Corps" longest serving Marine and commandant came up through the enlisted ranks, This guy walked down the street in Washington DC some time after 1812, when gangs were pretty wild and running amok. Took him a contingent of Marines from the Barracks at 8/I. Parked them in the road, walked out called the leader of the prominent gang of the time out to the street. When the guy showed up, Archie clubbed him to death in the street with his swagger stick. Now that's a bad ass Marine legend right there.

Response by Sgt Tee Organ made Feb 2 at 2018 8:40 AM

Sgt Tee Organ — Fri, 02 Feb 2018 08:40:27 -0500

General Alfred Grey!!

Response by Sgt Dale Briggs made Feb 3 at 2018 6:59 PM

Sgt Dale Briggs — Sat, 03 Feb 2018 18:59:59 -0500

I don't think any come to mind that civilians would know. Daily won 2 CMH and had a third downgrades to a Navy Cross. If your not a Marine you'd have no clue.