[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 58 (Thursday, May 12, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         DEATH OF LEWIS PULLER

  Mr. KERREY. Mr. President, I would ask unanimous consent if the 
manager of the bill would allow me to speak for a few moments about an 
individual whom I know the distinguished senior Senator from Virginia 
knows well, and that is the son of former Marine Gen. Chester Puller. 
Chester Puller himself was a great American hero.
  I met General Puller myself in 1969. I was, at the time, a patient at 
the Philadelphia Naval Hospital. Chester Puller was coming to the 
hospital to visit his son, and I frankly did not know who the general 
was. I was in the world's largest and most powerful Navy at the time, a 
lieutenant junior grade in that great naval force, and I was then a 
member of Seal Team 1, and we prided ourselves in knowing as little as 
possible about the Marine Corps, I must say.
  General Puller, nonetheless, struck all of us in that ward as a 
remarkable individual. And before I left the hospital, I was given the 
opportunity, if not coerced, to read his biography entitled simply 
``Marine.'' He received five Navy crosses, and from one who knows--I 
read the actions in each case, and it is remarkable to me that each one 
of them were deserving of his having received the Congressional Medal 
of Honor, remarkable actions, a career that spanned 40 years and four 
wars, a real soldier's general, and I have subsequently, having met him 
in 1969, become a very significant fan of Chester Puller.
  Chester Puller was there in the hospital to visit his son, who in the 
fall of 1968, in the war in Vietnam, apropos very much of what the 
senior Senator from Virginia was discussing earlier, was badly injured. 
He tripped a wire that was attached to a howitzer round, and the 
explosion, in Lewis's words resulted in essentially vaporizing his 
legs. He was badly injured--beyond that, not expected to survive. The 
other members of his company were in fact urging him to pray as quickly 
as possible.
  But Lewis Puller survived. He lived. And I met him in 1969 when I 
arrived in the hospital, also a patient undergoing treatment.
  Lewis Puller yesterday took his own life. His death, I am quite 
certain, is grieved not just by those of us who knew him well and 
called him friend--his death is grieved, I know, with great passion by 
his wife Toddy, his daughter Maggie, and his son Lewis, and by 
thousands of others who read his biography called ``Fortunate Son,'' an 
account of his growing up with Chesty Puller, an account of his 
terrible and tragic accident in Vietnam, and his recovery, remarkable 
recovery, Mr. President.
  Lew Puller, in his book ``Fortunate Son,'' which was recognized by 
the award of the Pulitzer Prize, inspired thousands of people who saw 
an individual who overcame enormous adversity and said ``the human 
spirit can do almost anything.'' I know that many will see his death 
and say here is a victim of the Vietnam war. Indeed, that I believe is 
accurate to say. But my hope is that in viewing this death, we as a 
country do not merely say, well, there is another Vietnam veteran who 
could not deal with his problems.
  Indeed, there are many Vietnam veterans who have committed suicide, 
far more than veterans from any other war. More Vietnam veterans are 
struggling. But my hope is that this life can be seen for the heroism 
of Lewis Puller.
  Mr. President, not long ago I was given a statement by George Bernard 
Shaw that said:

       This is the true joy of life, being used for a purpose 
     recognized by yourself as a mighty one, being a force of 
     nature instead of a feverish little clod of ailments and 
     grievances complaining that the world will not make you 
     happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole 
     community.

  That is George Bernard Shaw.
  I believe Lewis Puller believed the same thing, that his life 
belonged to the whole community. He made an effort to live on behalf of 
his wife, on behalf of his children, and he raised two strong, good 
children.
  I was with him when he was attending William and Mary Law School. He 
had to wheel his wheelchair up to the doors of buildings and wait for 
someone to carry his body to class. But he did that with great dignity, 
Mr. President, and as a consequence of that dignity, he inspired me and 
he inspired many others who came into contact with him.
  Mr. President, Lewis Puller, in the end, was less a victim of Vietnam 
than he was a victim of alcohol, a disease over which Lewis Puller also 
had to fight. And he conquered that disease. Unfortunately, there was a 
relapse occurring as a consequence of pain that he was feeling and 
treatment that he received for that pain, producing a cycle of 
depression and despair and moving Lewis B. Puller into a trough of 
depression. He could not fight his way out of it, Mr. President. He was 
unable to struggle and fight his way out of the final valley of the 
shadow of death, and he took his own life late yesterday morning.
  But, Mr. President, Lewis Puller led a life that left a legacy. It 
left a legacy of hope, a legacy of inspiration, a legacy of creativity, 
and a legacy of accomplishment. And I pray that Lewis Puller has found 
the peace that alluded him here on Earth. And I pray that those who 
knew him, those who admired him, those who have read his works, will 
find inspiration, inspiration to believe that the human spirit can 
overcome anything, anything that a human being wants to do.
  Mr. President, I know the senior Senator from Virginia knew Chester 
Puller and Lewis Puller well, and I would be glad to yield the floor to 
him.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I thank my distinguished colleague. I ask 
the managers for a brief few minutes.
  It is with a great sense of humility that I join my distinguished 
colleague. I know of no Senator--indeed, I know few Americans--who 
could have spoken more eloquently about Lew Puller than our colleague 
from Nebraska. He bears the same scars in many respects as did Lew 
Puller. And through the hands of providence he is here today. And our 
friend, Lew Puller, is no longer with us.
  I commend the Senator for also going to the side of the widow and the 
family immediately following the news of this loss.
  Mr. President, I did have the privilege of knowing his father in my 
brief service in the Marine Corps during the Korean war period and 
during the course of a number of years thereafter in the Reserves. But 
two words really describe the father, oddly enough. He was awesome, but 
he was a man with noted humility. He was one of the highest decorated 
Marines in recent times. I often hoped that did not urge his son to try 
to live up to that father's standard. But who knows?
  I read his book, the ``Fortunate Son.'' It is a very moving 
revelation of a son's love for his father. Time and time again, even 
when he was in the Marines as a young lieutenant and in the presence of 
his father, there was this great love between these two men. And it 
sustained the young Puller during his arduous days in Vietnam, as did 
his wife who was by his side during that critical period. It is a 
beautiful love story, a beautiful American love story, and one of 
service and dedication.
  I got to know young Puller when he sought to become a U.S. 
Congressman from the Commowealth of Virginia. And I watched him 
campaign in his wheelchair, holding his chin high, with his wife and 
his family by his side. That is the way I will remember him. He fought 
a good battle. I wished that he would have thought of fighting that 
battle for a seat in the Senate. But he chose another career--already 
an attorney, he became a noted author as well.
  I hope that some of his recent work products as a writer will come to 
the forefront now and we can share them as we did the book ``Fortunate 
Son,'' for which he won a Pulitzer Prize.
  Senator, it is my hope and expectation that both of us will have the 
privilege of being present as the last rites are accorded this brave 
American this coming Monday.
  I thank again my good friend and colleague from Nebraska.
  Mr. KERREY. I thank the Senator from Virginia.

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