“What is the coolest line in history?
U. S. Marine Lt. Gen. Lewis “Chesty” Puller is arguably the toughest sonuvabitch that ever walked this Earth.
Chesty Puller started at the bottom, as a rank private in the Marine Corps. He climbed the ranks as he fought guerrillas in Nicaragua and Haiti; slogged through many nasty engagements through World War II; and the hell that was the Korean War.
It wasn’t until he suffered a stroke in 1955 and forced retirement that slowed him down. He was admired by the men under his command, and feared by his opponents on the battlefield.
He was also a fount of cool, quotable lines:
- “You don’t hurt ’em if you don’t hit ’em.”
- “Hit hard, hit fast, hit often.”
- “All right. They’re on our left; they’re on our right; they’re in front of us, and they’re behind us. They can’t get away this time.”
- “Son, when the Marine Corps wants you to have a wife, you will be issued one.”
