Chesty Puller wasn't the flag officer who demanded the battle of Peleliu (to secure an imaginary flank)- it was the guy who a few years later ordered soldier in summer uniforms to pursue North Koreans into a Winter whiteout and a Chinese ambush.
and I have had my issues addressed, at least I recognize the issues as opposed to those who are in denial.
I frankly have no clue what your grievances or personal demons are. Or what it is that people seem to have in "denial" that so bothers you.
I realize that the Corps long ago canonized Puller. I absolutely agree that Peleliu was an unnecessary invasion - for that we can largely thank MacArthur and Roosevelt. But that invasion was no more unnecessary than Rupertus's operational decisions and Puller's tactics at Umurbrogol Ridge that cost the first regiment more than 50% casualties in unrelenting frontal assaults against dug-in Japanese positions rather than call in, God forbid, the 81st Infantry Division, United States Army, for support.
Fortunately for what was left of the 1st, General Roy Geiger ( a truly outstanding wartime USMC General Officer), who was the overall landing forces commander, came ashore, assessed the situation, and ordered in the 81st Division’s 321st Regimental Combat Team, relieving the remnants of the 1st Marine Regiment.
Most of the operational blame belongs to Rupertus who desperately wanted to maintain an all Marine Corps show on the island - however many lives it took. But Puller's tactics also have received well deserved criticism. The 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment suffered a 71 percent casualty rate; only 74 men from nine rifle companies were left standing; not in heroic defense, but in unimaginative frontal assaults against a tenacious, well fortified enemy. Was it because Puller was chasing a star, he was incompetent, or he wouldn't question Rupertus? Who knows.
I would simply observe that sometimes even hero's and saints make make mistakes that cost men's lives whether they are squad leaders, company and regimental commanders, or division commanding generals. Puller's later actions at Chosin are deservedly the thing of legend.
As
@mdwest notes, there are good and bad apples in every profession. I have obvious biases, but I believe that the services do a pretty good job of selecting the most deserving to be flag officers. Perhaps the most glaring error in modern times was Mark Clark who commanded American forces in Italy (you can find plenty on google). Another, I personally believe that was similarly badly appointed, was Tommy Franks who commanded CENTCOM at the time of the Iraqi and Afghanistan invasions.
But for each of these flawed personalities, there are many other extraordinary leaders who have, on the whole, done pretty well in preparing and leading America's greatest assets, this nation's soldiers, airmen, and marines, in war. They worked their way up through a pretty tough profession where merit was rewarded and incompetence rarely tolerated.
I too would recommend "Once an Eagle" by Anton Myrer (the '76 mini-series is pretty bad). Whether West Pointer, ROTC, or OCS, I personally knew far more graduates of the Sam Damon school of command than I did that of Courtney Massengale.
