Talk:Lewis Burwell Puller Jr.

To be clarified
I've moved this from the article, as it doesn't connect properly as written:
 * In a final act of giving, Puller became an organ donor, Supervisor Gerald W. Hyland, at the Mount Vernon District. "Yesterday morning, I sat in the waiting room at Washington Hospital Center transplant section," he said. "I saw a sign that read 'In death, there is life. Donate organs.' Lewis Puller donated his organs and was successful in having that occur."


 * "He was a terribly intelligent person whose pain, apparently, he could not endure any longer," Hyland said. "It's so sad that the conflict in Vietnam has taken another victim. Although Lew Puller has died, he has truly left his mark on America."

Tyrenius 05:01, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

Recommended
History is dis-served by overlooking the membership of Lew Puller Jr. on the Presidential Clemency Board of Gerald Ford - for which Wikipedia presently has no page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.188.29.213 (talk) 20:59, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

He was too hard on himself
I saw an interview with Puller Jr. shortly before his death in which he displayed despondency and lack of self-esteem based on his contention that in the incident in which he was wounded, his first in combat, he "ran" shortly after deplaning from his chopper when his unit immediately came under unexpected fire. First of all, this is an entirely unremarkeable thing to happen to green troops which does not reflect cowardice or desertion under fire. Moreover, there is such a thing as tactical retreat that is sometimes necessary in dealing with unexpected fire and other tough situations. Had Puller emerged from this incident unharmed ready to fight another day, it would have been merely a learning experience that would have faded into his memory. Unfortunately, as someone who had lost multiple limbs that was not possible. It is tragic that Puller, influenced by the giant legacy of his father, had to disrespect himself so unfairly. For example, if one is in the woods, even if armed, and is suddenly charged by a grizzly, one may be justified in retreating to a better position as both a survival and hunting strategy, this being consistent with Marine Corp doctrine that in the defensive mode the mission of the rifle squad is to evade and repulse the enemy's attack by "fire and manuever". Tom Cod (talk) 20:58, 7 July 2008 (UTC)