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Fortunate Son: The Autobiography of Lewis B. Puller, Jr.
A Vietnam veteran who lost both legs and a hand in the Vietnam War recounts his homecoming and his attempts to come to terms with his life
389 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1991
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1522 people want to read
About the author
Lewis B. Puller Jr.
6 books5 followersLewis Burwell Puller Jr. was the son of General Lewis "Chesty" Puller, the most decorated Marine in the history of the Marine Corps. He followed in his father's footsteps and became a Marine officer. Upon graduation from the College of William and Mary in 1967, Puller was shipped to Vietnam, where he was badly wounded by a landmine on October 11, 1968, losing both legs and most use of his hands in the explosion. The mine riddled his body with shrapnel, and he lingered near death for days with his weight dropping to 55 pounds, but Puller survived. Those who knew him say that it was primarily because of his iron will and his stubborn refusal to die. Because of his wounds, Puller was medically discharged from the Marine Corps. During his short active-duty military career, Puller earned the Silver Star, two Purple Hearts, the Navy Commendation Medal and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry.
For years after he returned to a reasonably sound physical condition, the emotional ground underneath him remained shaky, though he got a law degree,had two children with the woman he had married before going to VietNam, and raised a family. He even mounted an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 1978, representing eastern Virginia. Throughout the years, he battled black periods of despondency and drank heavily until 1981, when he underwent treatment for alcoholism. Despite a return to normality, Puller continued to suffer from severe depression and occasional bouts of alcoholism.
In 1991, Puller told the story of his horrible ordeal and its agonizing aftermath in an inspiring book titled Fortunate Son, an account that ended with Puller triumphing over his physical disabilities, and becoming emotionally at peace with himself. It won the Pulitzer Prize. This autobiography also became the basis for the later song "Fortunate Son" by Bruce Hornsby. Booknotes.org carries an archive which can be accessed to view online the may 1991 hour-long interview of brian lamb with mr. puller.
According to friends and associates, Puller spent the last months of his life in turmoil. In the days leading up to his death, Puller fought a losing battle with the alcoholism that he had kept at bay for 13 years, and struggled with a more recent addiction, to painkillers initially prescribed to dull continuing pain from his wounds.
For years after he returned to a reasonably sound physical condition, the emotional ground underneath him remained shaky, though he got a law degree,had two children with the woman he had married before going to VietNam, and raised a family. He even mounted an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 1978, representing eastern Virginia. Throughout the years, he battled black periods of despondency and drank heavily until 1981, when he underwent treatment for alcoholism. Despite a return to normality, Puller continued to suffer from severe depression and occasional bouts of alcoholism.
In 1991, Puller told the story of his horrible ordeal and its agonizing aftermath in an inspiring book titled Fortunate Son, an account that ended with Puller triumphing over his physical disabilities, and becoming emotionally at peace with himself. It won the Pulitzer Prize. This autobiography also became the basis for the later song "Fortunate Son" by Bruce Hornsby. Booknotes.org carries an archive which can be accessed to view online the may 1991 hour-long interview of brian lamb with mr. puller.
According to friends and associates, Puller spent the last months of his life in turmoil. In the days leading up to his death, Puller fought a losing battle with the alcoholism that he had kept at bay for 13 years, and struggled with a more recent addiction, to painkillers initially prescribed to dull continuing pain from his wounds.
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April 7, 2011
Fortunate Son: The Healing of a Vietnam Vet had been on my reading list for several years before I found the courage to read it. I knew it would be a difficult read: a father-son relationship that misfires, war, the dashed hopes of a childhood dream ending with horrific injuries, alcoholism, depression, a failed suicide attempt. CSI may have desensitized me to a degree, but this isn’t fiction, it’s an autobiography.
The son of a retired marine myself, I could relate to parts of Lewis B. Puller, Jr.’s story. My dad had retired from the Corps before he met and married my mother, so I never knew him as a marine. Although proud of his service in the South Pacific, he never urged me to follow in his footsteps.
Lew, Jr. was the son of the legendary Lewis “Chesty” Puller, one of the more decorated marines in the history of the Corps. He didn’t have to urge his son to follow him into the marines. He just came home from the Korean conflict to a parade and much hero worship. So is it any wonder that five-year-old Lew, Jr. wanted, when he grew up, to seek his own glory in war?
In Fortunate Son, Lewis B. Puller chronicles his youth, his adoration of his father, and his father’s love for him. Despite being far less athletic than his twin sister, Lew always made out his father’s cheers at little league games, even when he played poorly.
When the day came, General Puller smiled proudly when his son volunteered for officer’s training in the Marine Corps.
Eventually the young Puller, as a Second Lieutenant, finds himself in the bush in charge of a platoon of young marines. Before long he realizes he doesn’t belong in Vietnam, America doesn’t belong in Vietnam, that the Nixon administration is wrong to send her boys to Vietnam, and he comes to the conclusion—having watched several marines under his command killed—that a career in the military is no longer what he wishes. Unfortunately, two weeks later he steps on a booby trap and loses both legs while severely damaging both hands.
All of this takes place in the first one-hundred pages or so of Fortunate Son. The remaining 280 pages chronicle Lew’s recovery from his wounds as well as his efforts to come to terms with his service to his country—what he calls reconciliation: was his sacrifice worth it? Sadly he keeps coming up with the wrong answer: No.
He recounts his father’s first visit after he returned stateside, wounded; how the elder Puller broke down and sobbed, unashamedly. It was the second time Lew had seen his father weep. He also recounts, in vivid detail, the long, slow death of his father after a series of strokes took more and more of the tough marine, at first leaving him weakened, eventually incontinent and affecting his memory—at times he had no recollection that Lew, Jr. had been wounded in Vietnam. And so once again Lew, Jr. is robbed of the chance at reconciliation, at least with the man he loved the most and who, in youth, he’d most wanted to emulate. Yet even in life “Chesty” is at a loss for the right words: He can’t understand why the marines are fighting a losing battle in Southeast Asia.
He can’t understand why, for doing their duty, marines came home to be spat upon by their fellow Americans. It wasn’t a war they started; yet they were blamed for it, were seen as long-haired, marijuana smoking hippies who killed women and children. Lew saw none of the latter, but understood it happened. He never understood the media’s fascination with reporting only the bad, never the acts of heroism. Nor did they ever hold accountable those in office. The buck stopped with the marines who were only following orders.
Lew fathered two children—the first, a son, before leaving for Vietnam. After months spent recovering from his injuries and after multiple surgeries (mostly on his hands), Lew returned to school to become a lawyer. A few years later, angered by the political environment in Virginia, he ran for congress against Paul S. Trible, Jr., who’d managed to avoid serving in Vietnam for medical reasons.
Lew, with absolutely no campaign experience, ran a clean campaign; but in the end he was beaten soundly, learning that in politics it’s not important for a candidate to believe what they say; they only have to say what the voters want to hear.
After the election, Lew’s drinking escalated. The beer, which had been a crutch for him since officer’s school, had turned to scotch—to the tune of a bottle every night. He was depressed, angry, and he hadn’t yet healed, emotionally, from Vietnam. He watched the civilian prisoners return from Iran, heroes, to appear on TV as celebrities, and he shook his head in wonder over why no one ever affirmed the Vietnam veteran’s sacrifice.
All the while the drinking continues. Lew regularly got up in the middle of the night to fix himself a wine cocktail, arrived at work in the Pentagon drunk and spent his day thinking about getting home so he could have another drink. Eventually he took to keeping a pint of vodka in his desk and marveled that no one ever suspected.
One night, while watching a special about the Vietnam War on public television, Lew became so enraged by something said that he destroyed the TV. When his wife, Toddy, ran upstairs to check on him, he’d already forgotten what was said that angered him. Toddy immediately took him to rehab where he was diagnosed in the last stages of alcoholism. He spent the next four weeks searching for answers, seeking serenity, and learning that he was not nearly as important to others as he thought. Lew dried out and the book ends shortly after the dedication of the Vietnam Memorial, with Lew, clear of the fog of alcohol, at last finding a semblance of peace.
One day three Soviet veterans of the Afghanistan War arranged to meet Lew at the memorial, and Lew was surprised at the length of his father’s shadow. It seems his father is studied in Russia for his tactical brilliance. Odd, this band of brothers—only two of the four speak English. But men who have shed blood and watched blood flow share a bond that surmounts language, even culture.
These three Soviets wished to see a memorial raised in Russia to recognize the sacrifice they and their comrades made in Afghanistan. But like the Vietnam vets, they too were eschewed in their homeland. And they wished to know how Lew found his reconciliation. He tells them.
Fortunate Son won a Pulitzer shortly after its release, and rightfully so. Puller’s story is a moving one—a story no doubt that belongs to thousands of Vietnam vets. Serving their country to the best of their ability, following orders handed down to them as a result of a misguided administration with a political agenda that saw our boys as fodder. Suffering wounds, some physical, most emotional, from which they could never truly heal because, for twenty years, there was no reconciliation.
Puller had a gift for language, for writing, for telling a story, and his memoir, often poignant, at times humorous, is a moving one. His account of his alcoholism—the anger, the lost temper, the blackouts, the memory loss, and how the realization that he could never take another drink again was like losing a loved one—takes the reader into hell, only to reemerge, with Lew victorious at their side.
Fortunate Son should be required reading in our schools even if, tragically, the epitaph wasn’t written for several more years, when Puller took his own life. His wife, Toddy, perhaps to pursue her own political career, had separated from him and he’d again begun drinking. Toddy said: “To the list of names of victims of the Vietnam War, add the name of Lewis Puller ... He suffered terrible wounds that never really healed.” Were they the words of a grieving widow or merely words of deflection? Only she can know.
Rose Kennedy perhaps said it best when she disagreed with the adage that time heals all wounds. She claimed the wounds remained. “In time,” she said, “the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens, but it is never gone.”
First Lieutenant Puller’s story is precisely why no single man should be granted the power, with a flourish of his signature, to send young men off to war—not unless he, too, has been there, at the gates of hell, fighting not for glory, honor or country, but merely to stay alive.
My highest recommendation.
The son of a retired marine myself, I could relate to parts of Lewis B. Puller, Jr.’s story. My dad had retired from the Corps before he met and married my mother, so I never knew him as a marine. Although proud of his service in the South Pacific, he never urged me to follow in his footsteps.
Lew, Jr. was the son of the legendary Lewis “Chesty” Puller, one of the more decorated marines in the history of the Corps. He didn’t have to urge his son to follow him into the marines. He just came home from the Korean conflict to a parade and much hero worship. So is it any wonder that five-year-old Lew, Jr. wanted, when he grew up, to seek his own glory in war?
In Fortunate Son, Lewis B. Puller chronicles his youth, his adoration of his father, and his father’s love for him. Despite being far less athletic than his twin sister, Lew always made out his father’s cheers at little league games, even when he played poorly.
When the day came, General Puller smiled proudly when his son volunteered for officer’s training in the Marine Corps.
Eventually the young Puller, as a Second Lieutenant, finds himself in the bush in charge of a platoon of young marines. Before long he realizes he doesn’t belong in Vietnam, America doesn’t belong in Vietnam, that the Nixon administration is wrong to send her boys to Vietnam, and he comes to the conclusion—having watched several marines under his command killed—that a career in the military is no longer what he wishes. Unfortunately, two weeks later he steps on a booby trap and loses both legs while severely damaging both hands.
All of this takes place in the first one-hundred pages or so of Fortunate Son. The remaining 280 pages chronicle Lew’s recovery from his wounds as well as his efforts to come to terms with his service to his country—what he calls reconciliation: was his sacrifice worth it? Sadly he keeps coming up with the wrong answer: No.
He recounts his father’s first visit after he returned stateside, wounded; how the elder Puller broke down and sobbed, unashamedly. It was the second time Lew had seen his father weep. He also recounts, in vivid detail, the long, slow death of his father after a series of strokes took more and more of the tough marine, at first leaving him weakened, eventually incontinent and affecting his memory—at times he had no recollection that Lew, Jr. had been wounded in Vietnam. And so once again Lew, Jr. is robbed of the chance at reconciliation, at least with the man he loved the most and who, in youth, he’d most wanted to emulate. Yet even in life “Chesty” is at a loss for the right words: He can’t understand why the marines are fighting a losing battle in Southeast Asia.
He can’t understand why, for doing their duty, marines came home to be spat upon by their fellow Americans. It wasn’t a war they started; yet they were blamed for it, were seen as long-haired, marijuana smoking hippies who killed women and children. Lew saw none of the latter, but understood it happened. He never understood the media’s fascination with reporting only the bad, never the acts of heroism. Nor did they ever hold accountable those in office. The buck stopped with the marines who were only following orders.
Lew fathered two children—the first, a son, before leaving for Vietnam. After months spent recovering from his injuries and after multiple surgeries (mostly on his hands), Lew returned to school to become a lawyer. A few years later, angered by the political environment in Virginia, he ran for congress against Paul S. Trible, Jr., who’d managed to avoid serving in Vietnam for medical reasons.
Lew, with absolutely no campaign experience, ran a clean campaign; but in the end he was beaten soundly, learning that in politics it’s not important for a candidate to believe what they say; they only have to say what the voters want to hear.
After the election, Lew’s drinking escalated. The beer, which had been a crutch for him since officer’s school, had turned to scotch—to the tune of a bottle every night. He was depressed, angry, and he hadn’t yet healed, emotionally, from Vietnam. He watched the civilian prisoners return from Iran, heroes, to appear on TV as celebrities, and he shook his head in wonder over why no one ever affirmed the Vietnam veteran’s sacrifice.
All the while the drinking continues. Lew regularly got up in the middle of the night to fix himself a wine cocktail, arrived at work in the Pentagon drunk and spent his day thinking about getting home so he could have another drink. Eventually he took to keeping a pint of vodka in his desk and marveled that no one ever suspected.
One night, while watching a special about the Vietnam War on public television, Lew became so enraged by something said that he destroyed the TV. When his wife, Toddy, ran upstairs to check on him, he’d already forgotten what was said that angered him. Toddy immediately took him to rehab where he was diagnosed in the last stages of alcoholism. He spent the next four weeks searching for answers, seeking serenity, and learning that he was not nearly as important to others as he thought. Lew dried out and the book ends shortly after the dedication of the Vietnam Memorial, with Lew, clear of the fog of alcohol, at last finding a semblance of peace.
One day three Soviet veterans of the Afghanistan War arranged to meet Lew at the memorial, and Lew was surprised at the length of his father’s shadow. It seems his father is studied in Russia for his tactical brilliance. Odd, this band of brothers—only two of the four speak English. But men who have shed blood and watched blood flow share a bond that surmounts language, even culture.
These three Soviets wished to see a memorial raised in Russia to recognize the sacrifice they and their comrades made in Afghanistan. But like the Vietnam vets, they too were eschewed in their homeland. And they wished to know how Lew found his reconciliation. He tells them.
Fortunate Son won a Pulitzer shortly after its release, and rightfully so. Puller’s story is a moving one—a story no doubt that belongs to thousands of Vietnam vets. Serving their country to the best of their ability, following orders handed down to them as a result of a misguided administration with a political agenda that saw our boys as fodder. Suffering wounds, some physical, most emotional, from which they could never truly heal because, for twenty years, there was no reconciliation.
Puller had a gift for language, for writing, for telling a story, and his memoir, often poignant, at times humorous, is a moving one. His account of his alcoholism—the anger, the lost temper, the blackouts, the memory loss, and how the realization that he could never take another drink again was like losing a loved one—takes the reader into hell, only to reemerge, with Lew victorious at their side.
Fortunate Son should be required reading in our schools even if, tragically, the epitaph wasn’t written for several more years, when Puller took his own life. His wife, Toddy, perhaps to pursue her own political career, had separated from him and he’d again begun drinking. Toddy said: “To the list of names of victims of the Vietnam War, add the name of Lewis Puller ... He suffered terrible wounds that never really healed.” Were they the words of a grieving widow or merely words of deflection? Only she can know.
Rose Kennedy perhaps said it best when she disagreed with the adage that time heals all wounds. She claimed the wounds remained. “In time,” she said, “the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens, but it is never gone.”
First Lieutenant Puller’s story is precisely why no single man should be granted the power, with a flourish of his signature, to send young men off to war—not unless he, too, has been there, at the gates of hell, fighting not for glory, honor or country, but merely to stay alive.
My highest recommendation.
January 27, 2011
Fortunate Son: The Healing of a Vietnam Vet is the story of Lewis B. Puller, USMC, the son of Lt. General Chesty Puller, USMC, the most decorated Marine in history and the man who came to exemplify what being a Marine means (read his biography in Chesty by Colonel Jon T. Hoffman). To walk in his footsteps, especially as a Marine officer, took a courage that surfaced in this mild-mannered boy when he was grievously injured during the Vietnam War. In 1968, just one year after joining the Marines, he stepped on a land mine and had both legs and parts of his hands blown off. He spent the balance of his life struggling to overcome the damage, succeeding for almost fifteen years and then succombing to alcoholism and suicide.He became yet one more victim of the Vietnam War, as Toddy Puller said in a press interview, "To the list of names of victims of the Vietnam War, add the name of Lewis Puller (Jr.). He suffered terrible wounds that never really healed." During his brief active-duty military career, Puller earned the Silver Star, two Purple Hearts, the Navy Commendation Medal and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry.
The battle he fought to live a productive meaningful life when his injuries threatened to destroy his spirit and his purpose, is the story behind the Pulitzer Prize-winning story, Fortunate Son. He now rests in peace in Section 3, Grave Number 2229 of Arlington National Cemetery.
The book is available on Google Books.
The battle he fought to live a productive meaningful life when his injuries threatened to destroy his spirit and his purpose, is the story behind the Pulitzer Prize-winning story, Fortunate Son. He now rests in peace in Section 3, Grave Number 2229 of Arlington National Cemetery.
The book is available on Google Books.
May 6, 2016
A powerful book, but sad and unfinished as the author died by his own hand without ever really recovering from his wounds in Vietnam.
When you read a book like LONE SURVIVOR by Marcus Luttrell or American Sniper by Chris Kyle, or COLDER THAN HELL by Joseph Owen, or even a recent classic like AS TOUGH AS THEY COME by Travis Mills, you really feel like you're learning what it means to be a hero. The authors of these books are people I admired but couldn't ever imagine resembling or even imitating in any way. They just seemed like a breed above the run of ordinary men.
What really tears your heart out reading this book is that Lewis Puller was not that breed above. His father was a Marine Corps legend, and young Lewis tried hard to follow in his footsteps. But you sense from the beginning that his heart just wasn't in it. I don't say this to be superior. I was a Marine for six years and though I did my best I was well aware I didn't have "it." That certain loyalty or determination that sets a Marine apart and enables him to hold it together when ordinary men fall apart. I was luckier than Lewis Puller, but no better. I could see the way he was pushed into pretending to be someone he wasn't, and the terrible price he had to pay for taking on the burdens of his father, burdens he really wasn't ready for. In the end what destroyed him just as much as his wounds, in my opinion, is that he could never forgive himself for not being the superman who would have been a "worthy" son of the great Chesty Puller.
Perhaps the greatest tragedy of all is the way this book reveals Chesty Puller himself to have been a very human man. One would expect him to have been a tyrant, a brutal disciplinarian, someone like the father in Pat Conroy's THE GREAT SANTINI. If anything, Chesty Puller seems to have been very laid back, perfectly willing to let his son go his own way. The vibe I got from him wasn't that of a cruel retired drill instructor. More like a slightly doddering, absent minded and vaguely punch drunk fighter, like a retired heavyweight who took a few too many to the head in the ring. It's so heartbreaking that Chesty Puller and his son never connected. I think if they had Lewis wouldn't have felt obliged to join the Marines and volunteer for combat, and I also think his inability to forgive himself after becoming crippled really reflected a self-doubt and self-disgust that had childhood roots. Again, this is not meant to sound critical, the sadness and futility he expresses about dealing with his father were things I connected to on a very personal level.
This is a sad, sad book and I would love to give it more than three stars but there are so few lessons and the author himself never seems fully engaged in his own life. It's like he's slipping away right before your eyes. Combat broke Lewis B. Puller but he was clearly damaged long before.
There but for the grace of God go I!
When you read a book like LONE SURVIVOR by Marcus Luttrell or American Sniper by Chris Kyle, or COLDER THAN HELL by Joseph Owen, or even a recent classic like AS TOUGH AS THEY COME by Travis Mills, you really feel like you're learning what it means to be a hero. The authors of these books are people I admired but couldn't ever imagine resembling or even imitating in any way. They just seemed like a breed above the run of ordinary men.
What really tears your heart out reading this book is that Lewis Puller was not that breed above. His father was a Marine Corps legend, and young Lewis tried hard to follow in his footsteps. But you sense from the beginning that his heart just wasn't in it. I don't say this to be superior. I was a Marine for six years and though I did my best I was well aware I didn't have "it." That certain loyalty or determination that sets a Marine apart and enables him to hold it together when ordinary men fall apart. I was luckier than Lewis Puller, but no better. I could see the way he was pushed into pretending to be someone he wasn't, and the terrible price he had to pay for taking on the burdens of his father, burdens he really wasn't ready for. In the end what destroyed him just as much as his wounds, in my opinion, is that he could never forgive himself for not being the superman who would have been a "worthy" son of the great Chesty Puller.
Perhaps the greatest tragedy of all is the way this book reveals Chesty Puller himself to have been a very human man. One would expect him to have been a tyrant, a brutal disciplinarian, someone like the father in Pat Conroy's THE GREAT SANTINI. If anything, Chesty Puller seems to have been very laid back, perfectly willing to let his son go his own way. The vibe I got from him wasn't that of a cruel retired drill instructor. More like a slightly doddering, absent minded and vaguely punch drunk fighter, like a retired heavyweight who took a few too many to the head in the ring. It's so heartbreaking that Chesty Puller and his son never connected. I think if they had Lewis wouldn't have felt obliged to join the Marines and volunteer for combat, and I also think his inability to forgive himself after becoming crippled really reflected a self-doubt and self-disgust that had childhood roots. Again, this is not meant to sound critical, the sadness and futility he expresses about dealing with his father were things I connected to on a very personal level.
This is a sad, sad book and I would love to give it more than three stars but there are so few lessons and the author himself never seems fully engaged in his own life. It's like he's slipping away right before your eyes. Combat broke Lewis B. Puller but he was clearly damaged long before.
There but for the grace of God go I!
June 10, 2008
I find myself more mystified than ever about the Vietnam War and American Culture of that day. I’ve now read 4 Vietnam veteran biographies and all, but one (that would be John McCain’s), contain a common theme of disillusionment, rejection, and loss. I grieve for the veterans who suffered more from the attitude of anti-war protestors and an ungrateful nation than they did at the hands of brutal enemies of freedom. Another facet of the culture of the day fascinates me and this is the culture of cocktails. It seems that for many the ritual cocktail hour, wine and beer with dinner followed by after dinner drinks was a norm. I try to imagine the faces of my own dear friends if I were to invite them over for cocktails before dinner or for a nightcap later on. Yet today my parents celebrate a variation of this theme and I distinctly remember my paternal grandparents hosting many a cocktail hour with martinis and old fashions, cigarettes and the prerequisite “dinner dress.” What seems to be missing in many of the Vietnam era narratives is faith (Is this why John McCain is different with his bios entitled “Faith of my Fathers” and “Worth Fighting For”?). The time of the 60’s and 70’s as seen from my distant, superficial vantage point is an era when every faith, in government, leadership, religion, and traditional family roles, was shaken, not stirred (sorry I couldn’t resist). Notwithstanding, Fortunate Son is a tragic life story with a few supreme triumphs and numerous losses. The epilogue to the epilogue reveals the greatest loss of all, leaving one to ponder why and why then?
Lewis B. Puller, Jr. shares intimately the struggles of his life. With his words, I begin to know him through his most human qualities. His legacy is one of great courage. It is only after the end of the book that I allow myself to ponder the yellowed newspaper clippings that lured me to the book in the first place as it sat half forgotten on a clearance shelf at our local used book store. I am thankful for the gift of Lewis Puller to this world. And as long as there are readers of his story, history, he will be remembered and his contributions to our Nation celebrated and not forgotten after all.
He closes with this quote: “Often the only way to keep that which we hold most dear is to give it away.”
Further Epilogue: http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/pull...
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/art...
On Lewis’ wife Toddy Puller: http://www.toddy.org/index.asp?Type=B...
On Lewis Puller III:
http://www.golfonline.com/golfonline/...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article...
Mother of Lewis Puller Jr.: http://www.m14tfl.com/upload/showthre...
Lewis B. Puller, Jr. shares intimately the struggles of his life. With his words, I begin to know him through his most human qualities. His legacy is one of great courage. It is only after the end of the book that I allow myself to ponder the yellowed newspaper clippings that lured me to the book in the first place as it sat half forgotten on a clearance shelf at our local used book store. I am thankful for the gift of Lewis Puller to this world. And as long as there are readers of his story, history, he will be remembered and his contributions to our Nation celebrated and not forgotten after all.
He closes with this quote: “Often the only way to keep that which we hold most dear is to give it away.”
Further Epilogue: http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/pull...
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/art...
On Lewis’ wife Toddy Puller: http://www.toddy.org/index.asp?Type=B...
On Lewis Puller III:
http://www.golfonline.com/golfonline/...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article...
Mother of Lewis Puller Jr.: http://www.m14tfl.com/upload/showthre...
December 5, 2012
I had the pleasure of meeting Lew Puller, Jr. in 1987; an inspiration to all Marines at the time. I was in college when I read his book not long before he took his own life. Tragic in that he was given medicine that re-ignited his medicinal addiction to morphene but his story and family live on. Lew is every bit a hero to me as is his well known Father and General Lew "Chesty" Puller.
Read the story, and take your time with the book. The detail is superb, the life an amazing one.
Read the story, and take your time with the book. The detail is superb, the life an amazing one.
December 25, 2007
Engrossing. I read most of it in one night. I enjoy military history, so I was already well acquainted with Puller, Sr., a famous Marine commander. Lew's story is a fantastic American journey, full of courage, despair, and hope (he was horribly maimed on the battlefield in Vietnam). It is an inspirational story, written by a regular man. As such it gives hope to all of us, especially those who may have struggled with some of the same personal demons. Even if you don't particularly care to read about the military, you will like this book. It is a human story; the military is only incidental. Particularly poignant are some of the insights he draws about the relationship with his father and the love of his wife, and the things he learned as a result.
July 12, 2009
I don't characterize this oustanding book as military history but a family story, about a man overcoming his own family history. Lewis Puller Jr. was the son of military legend Chesty Puller. Jr., went to Vietnam, suffered serious injury after stepping on a booby trap. He went on to write this Pulizter Prize winning book after suffering enormous psychological scars. What is haunting and poignant is Lewis Jr., committed suicide a few years after writing this book.
March 31, 2014
I read Fortunate Son because a friend served in Puller's platoon in Vietnam. Although passionate about history, I had nevef read much on the Vietnam War. Puller's book was very engrossing and gave a good sense of "being there." It did, however, seem to drag when he described his unsuccessful run for Congress. Ultimately the book was a tragedy, because three years after publication, Puller committed suicide due to the psychological war that never left him. Definitely recommended
June 12, 2019
Writing this review in 2019, I remember being moved by this story and saddened to learn that the author had succumbed to his torments 13 years after writing this moving memoir.
February 10, 2021
This is one of the most difficult books I've ever read, a dichotomy of tragedy over triumph.
I read this in 1992 or 1993 after seeing Mr. Puller on C-SPAN's Booknotes on a Sunday night, as he told achingly of his experiences before, during, and after his service in Vietnam.
By seeing this book, you're most likely already aware of the author's pedigree: Lewis Puller, Jr. was the son of Lewis 'Chesty' Puller, one of the most decorated men in the history of the US Marine Corps, who served with great distinction during the second world war and later in Korea.
Lewis Jr. felt the weight of his great father pushing on him well before he joined the Marines in 1968, going to Vietnam as a platoon commander. Only about three months into his tour, he detonated a booby trap that had been improvised from an American howitzer round. The explosion maimed him severely, destroying both his legs, his left hand, and the fingers of his right hand. Puller would need a wheelchair for the rest of his life. His father was deeply saddened--the most powerful moment in the book was when Lewis saw his father cry for the first time, at seeing his son so gravely wounded.
As said, this was a very difficult book to read. It has an unmistakable undercurrent of depression throughout, and it was very hard for me to keep plugging away.
I suppose Puller wrote it at least partly as a catharsis, in an attempt to aid his journey of healing. And while it does have some uplifting passages, I didn't think those moments were very lasting, and in fact, I thought the book's mood was somewhat contrary to what I saw on C-SPAN's Booknotes.
After his maiming, Puller returned to college, earned a law degree, and became a lawyer. But a growing alcoholism slowly brought him down. He ran for Congress against a draft dodger, only to be trounced bitterly--and his depression darkened further. He finally stopped drinking, thanks in large part to a supporting wife who never left him in his darkest days. His outlook improved.
But it's those lingering things from his past, especially the remains of his traumatic injuries and his personal failures, that he just couldn't get rid of. Even with those relative high points, there are always those dark clouds hanging around. I just couldn't shake that sour feeling as I put the book down for the last time.
And I was saddened to learn of Puller's death at his own hand about a year after I read the book. But I wasn't at all surprised, though. It was simply a sad confirmation that he would never fully overcome his great wounds. The manner of his death affirms the book as a tragedy rather than a triumph.
Even the title of the book, Fortunate Son, is bitter. It is borrowed from John Fogerty's great song of the same name, ridiculing draft-age men of privilege who avoided the war in Vietnam. Lewis Puller, Jr. uses it with additional irony--he was the son of an acclaimed warrior, although his war experience was diametrically opposite of his father's.
This book haunts me somewhat, because from time to time I wonder if I should try it again to see if it's as uplifting and positive as Puller tried to say it was on Booknotes--maybe I was missing something and couldn't see the forest for the trees? But I remember the dark clouds that lingered over the reading, and I hesitate. I wanted so much to think of Lewis Puller, Jr.'s story as a victory over great adversity, but now I'm afraid I'll never be able to see it that way, because of how his story ultimately ended. It's a pain I doubt I'll ever want to revisit.
I read this in 1992 or 1993 after seeing Mr. Puller on C-SPAN's Booknotes on a Sunday night, as he told achingly of his experiences before, during, and after his service in Vietnam.
By seeing this book, you're most likely already aware of the author's pedigree: Lewis Puller, Jr. was the son of Lewis 'Chesty' Puller, one of the most decorated men in the history of the US Marine Corps, who served with great distinction during the second world war and later in Korea.
Lewis Jr. felt the weight of his great father pushing on him well before he joined the Marines in 1968, going to Vietnam as a platoon commander. Only about three months into his tour, he detonated a booby trap that had been improvised from an American howitzer round. The explosion maimed him severely, destroying both his legs, his left hand, and the fingers of his right hand. Puller would need a wheelchair for the rest of his life. His father was deeply saddened--the most powerful moment in the book was when Lewis saw his father cry for the first time, at seeing his son so gravely wounded.
As said, this was a very difficult book to read. It has an unmistakable undercurrent of depression throughout, and it was very hard for me to keep plugging away.
I suppose Puller wrote it at least partly as a catharsis, in an attempt to aid his journey of healing. And while it does have some uplifting passages, I didn't think those moments were very lasting, and in fact, I thought the book's mood was somewhat contrary to what I saw on C-SPAN's Booknotes.
After his maiming, Puller returned to college, earned a law degree, and became a lawyer. But a growing alcoholism slowly brought him down. He ran for Congress against a draft dodger, only to be trounced bitterly--and his depression darkened further. He finally stopped drinking, thanks in large part to a supporting wife who never left him in his darkest days. His outlook improved.
But it's those lingering things from his past, especially the remains of his traumatic injuries and his personal failures, that he just couldn't get rid of. Even with those relative high points, there are always those dark clouds hanging around. I just couldn't shake that sour feeling as I put the book down for the last time.
And I was saddened to learn of Puller's death at his own hand about a year after I read the book. But I wasn't at all surprised, though. It was simply a sad confirmation that he would never fully overcome his great wounds. The manner of his death affirms the book as a tragedy rather than a triumph.
Even the title of the book, Fortunate Son, is bitter. It is borrowed from John Fogerty's great song of the same name, ridiculing draft-age men of privilege who avoided the war in Vietnam. Lewis Puller, Jr. uses it with additional irony--he was the son of an acclaimed warrior, although his war experience was diametrically opposite of his father's.
This book haunts me somewhat, because from time to time I wonder if I should try it again to see if it's as uplifting and positive as Puller tried to say it was on Booknotes--maybe I was missing something and couldn't see the forest for the trees? But I remember the dark clouds that lingered over the reading, and I hesitate. I wanted so much to think of Lewis Puller, Jr.'s story as a victory over great adversity, but now I'm afraid I'll never be able to see it that way, because of how his story ultimately ended. It's a pain I doubt I'll ever want to revisit.
July 7, 2012
From birth Lewis B. Puller Jr. had some big shoes to fill. He was named after his father, one of the most famous Marines in Corps history, the legendary USMC Lt. General Lewis Burwell Puller, known simply as “Chesty”. Lewis Jr. was gifted at putting his inner thoughts on paper and he penned a heartbreaking autobiography filled with love, devotion, grief and sadness that truly deserved the Pulitzer Prize recognition. Throughout all the hardship he chose the title “Fortunate Son” to tell his story.
Lewis wished to create his own path forward and although the prestigious College of William and Mary is rich in tradition with a beautiful campus it’s not your typical military school. He is exceptionally candid about his indulgences drinking at fraternity parties. Fortunately love came his way. He fulfills his goal to become a Marine Corps officer and his mother and father proudly pinned the second lieutenant bars on him. The Vietnam War was a very brutal ugly war and before long Lewis, as a newlywed, was whisked away into another realm. While leading a patrol, a booby-trap explosion causes him to lose both his legs and partial use of his hands. Through many, many operations and accompanying financial hardships he endures to become a lawyer and makes a run for Congress. Alcoholism and family relationships spiced with a bit of humor tell the story of this veteran’s life for all to read and remember.
Lewis wished to create his own path forward and although the prestigious College of William and Mary is rich in tradition with a beautiful campus it’s not your typical military school. He is exceptionally candid about his indulgences drinking at fraternity parties. Fortunately love came his way. He fulfills his goal to become a Marine Corps officer and his mother and father proudly pinned the second lieutenant bars on him. The Vietnam War was a very brutal ugly war and before long Lewis, as a newlywed, was whisked away into another realm. While leading a patrol, a booby-trap explosion causes him to lose both his legs and partial use of his hands. Through many, many operations and accompanying financial hardships he endures to become a lawyer and makes a run for Congress. Alcoholism and family relationships spiced with a bit of humor tell the story of this veteran’s life for all to read and remember.
March 9, 2021
Once again, I am the outlier. Everyone seems to LOVE this book. I am much less enthusiastic about it.
I am a Jesus loving patriotic American. My issues with the book had nothing to do with the war or the fighting. I was interested in the story of this guy's life. I had never heard of him, but I certainly was aware of his father--Chesty Puller--the most famous marine who ever served. (That sentence pretty much sums up what I knew about him.)
I was a child during the Vietnam war, so I really don't remember much at all about it. I looked at this as a learning opportunity and it was our book club selection for the month. While reading the book, I would have to pause to look up some of the big events he briefly mentioned (an example, the trial of Lt. Calley for My Lai.). However, about half way through the book, I was exhausted. Lt. Puller LIVED it, so I can only imagine how exhausted he must have been. About half way through, I decided to look him up and see what he was doing now.....As other reviewers have pointed out, he committed suicide a few years after this book was published. So heartbreaking! That pretty much took the wind out of completing the book. The summation: the war changed soldiers in dramatic ways and they became people they didn't recognize any more. The injuries sustained during that war were horrific and required a tremendous amount of therapy and recuperation. The cost to the families was HUGE. I found this read to be pretty depressing. I am incredibly grateful for the sacrifice of men who are willing to serve where their country sends them. I am incredibly grateful for the freedoms of this nation. I am broken hearted for the loss of those who died and those who could not recover themselves.
I am a Jesus loving patriotic American. My issues with the book had nothing to do with the war or the fighting. I was interested in the story of this guy's life. I had never heard of him, but I certainly was aware of his father--Chesty Puller--the most famous marine who ever served. (That sentence pretty much sums up what I knew about him.)
I was a child during the Vietnam war, so I really don't remember much at all about it. I looked at this as a learning opportunity and it was our book club selection for the month. While reading the book, I would have to pause to look up some of the big events he briefly mentioned (an example, the trial of Lt. Calley for My Lai.). However, about half way through the book, I was exhausted. Lt. Puller LIVED it, so I can only imagine how exhausted he must have been. About half way through, I decided to look him up and see what he was doing now.....As other reviewers have pointed out, he committed suicide a few years after this book was published. So heartbreaking! That pretty much took the wind out of completing the book. The summation: the war changed soldiers in dramatic ways and they became people they didn't recognize any more. The injuries sustained during that war were horrific and required a tremendous amount of therapy and recuperation. The cost to the families was HUGE. I found this read to be pretty depressing. I am incredibly grateful for the sacrifice of men who are willing to serve where their country sends them. I am incredibly grateful for the freedoms of this nation. I am broken hearted for the loss of those who died and those who could not recover themselves.
March 1, 2019
Son of the revered and near-legendary Marine general, Chesty Puller, Lewis Jr. grew up in his father's shadow, sought to emulate his famous father and was severely wounded in Vietnam in late 1968. He would spend the rest of his life in a wheel chair. While he wanted badly to impress his father and make him proud, one gets the impression that Chesty loved his son unconditionally and did not explicitly demand the level of sacrifice that befell Puller Jr.
Puller tells his story in a straightforward, painfully honest manner, chronicling his experiences in the Marine Corps, his wounding and recovery and his readjustment to civilian life. Not least, he details his disillusionment while in Nam, his confusion and resentment at the indifference his sacrifice was met with - the same experience of many Vietnam vets. Embittered, struggling to come to terms with what had happened to him, he paid a heavy price for his service and ultimately became an alcoholic, something the reader can see coming early on.
Puller's story is compelling and hard to put down. However, despite his struggles, his autobiography ends on a positive note. Like so many alcoholics, he found peace (at least for a while ) and meaning through the discipline of Alcoholics Anonymous. Sadly, some three years after the publication of his Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography, Puller took his own life, adding still more poignancy and pain to his story.
This is still one of the most personal and meaningful books written about the American experience in Vietnam.
Puller tells his story in a straightforward, painfully honest manner, chronicling his experiences in the Marine Corps, his wounding and recovery and his readjustment to civilian life. Not least, he details his disillusionment while in Nam, his confusion and resentment at the indifference his sacrifice was met with - the same experience of many Vietnam vets. Embittered, struggling to come to terms with what had happened to him, he paid a heavy price for his service and ultimately became an alcoholic, something the reader can see coming early on.
Puller's story is compelling and hard to put down. However, despite his struggles, his autobiography ends on a positive note. Like so many alcoholics, he found peace (at least for a while ) and meaning through the discipline of Alcoholics Anonymous. Sadly, some three years after the publication of his Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography, Puller took his own life, adding still more poignancy and pain to his story.
This is still one of the most personal and meaningful books written about the American experience in Vietnam.
January 29, 2020
Amazing autobiography on the son of the most famous and decorated Marine (in the history of the Marines). This is the son of a famously historical Marine (EVERY Marine knows who his dad was). In the world of the USMC that is one hell of a legacy to live up to (an impossibility). That part is sufficiently 10% of the book. The majority of the book is about the author's personal aftermath of the Vietnam War. From the cover anyone can see the author by all means should have been dead from the mine he stepped on (a mine made from an artillery round meant to decimate an entire platoon (40 men). He lost his legs, most of an arm. Miraculously he returned home and still fathered 2 children, graduated from a respected Law School and ran for political office. He outlines his intense alcoholism and recovery, run for political office, his involvement in Veteran's Affairs. Unfortunately after the publication of the book he separated from his wife of over 20 years and committed suicide via self-inflicted gun shot 3 years after the publication of his book. Read this book to understand not only the pointlessness of the Vietnam War but pretty much all wars. I think by now everyone realizes all wars are fought for corporate and political interests much more so than National Security.
February 17, 2022
This book is an eye opening experience. Puller is so raw and honest in his description of his time in-country, as well as his years spent at the Naval Hospital and those he spent coming to terms with his failed run at Congress (Paul Trible, in my mind, will forever remain a jerk).
Mr. Puller committed suicide in 1994, a few years after publishing this book. And I know that a lot of readers are hung up on this detail, but I don't feel like it takes away from the read. It is an exceptionally well written autobiography.
He admits to his shortcomings during his patrols, describes what he remembers from the actual moment when he lost his limbs. He walks you through the arduous work it took to make him functional as a double amputee. Addresses the challenges in his marriage, the loss of his father and the desire to wiggle out from his shadow. I mean, he puts it all on the table.
Would I describe this as an uplifting book? No. No way. But it is so well written and unpretentious that it deserves a chance.
Mr. Puller committed suicide in 1994, a few years after publishing this book. And I know that a lot of readers are hung up on this detail, but I don't feel like it takes away from the read. It is an exceptionally well written autobiography.
He admits to his shortcomings during his patrols, describes what he remembers from the actual moment when he lost his limbs. He walks you through the arduous work it took to make him functional as a double amputee. Addresses the challenges in his marriage, the loss of his father and the desire to wiggle out from his shadow. I mean, he puts it all on the table.
Would I describe this as an uplifting book? No. No way. But it is so well written and unpretentious that it deserves a chance.
"I thought wryly of the differing degrees of sacrifices demanded of a pig and chicken when forced to contribute to a breakfast of ham and eggs."
December 29, 2017
This book was a hard read. As a former Marine everybody knows who Lewis B Puller Sr was, and the physical and mental trauma his son went through due to his service in Vietnam was hard to experience vicariously.
It was a hard read, but a necessary one. Not only did it give me a lot of insight into what it meant to be a Vietnam veteran, but it also gave me insight into my own father's alcoholism. My father was a Korean war vet and went through several similar treatment programs to what Lewis Puller Jr went through, and it was useful to see alcoholism from the other side.
The book was a harder read knowing "the rest of the story", that shortly after this book won the Pulitzer prize the author descended back into alcoholism and shot himself.
We owe it to these tragically damaged veterans of a difficult conflict to try to understand their stories and to remember and honor their sacrifices.
It was a hard read, but a necessary one. Not only did it give me a lot of insight into what it meant to be a Vietnam veteran, but it also gave me insight into my own father's alcoholism. My father was a Korean war vet and went through several similar treatment programs to what Lewis Puller Jr went through, and it was useful to see alcoholism from the other side.
The book was a harder read knowing "the rest of the story", that shortly after this book won the Pulitzer prize the author descended back into alcoholism and shot himself.
We owe it to these tragically damaged veterans of a difficult conflict to try to understand their stories and to remember and honor their sacrifices.
February 9, 2019
This book is about the son of a Marine legend, Chesty Puller, who serves his country in Vietnam and looses both legs and parts of each hand in combat. He describes his struggles to recover physically from his wounds and the grueling daily physical therapy sessions to learn to walk on prosthetic limbs. He is sustained by a loving wife who supports his decisions to return to school, become a lawyer, and try to figure out his life's purpose by running for congress. He struggles with alcohol addiction until eventually forgiving the past and finding his purpose. The book provided an interesting perspective on the Vietnam War and one of its casualties. It was an honest autobiography which helped me understand the war from a wounded warrior's perspective.
September 5, 2019
I somehow checked this book out of the library, so I gave it a shot. I wanted to like it, but I just couldn’t get into it. It was lengthy and tedious. I hate to say it based all how he ended up, but he was whiney. It was sad he couldn’t get his fathers love and approval, but he had a pretty easy life because of Chesty. A butler? Never did chores as a child? A good college and then law school? His story was extremely sad, and it’s unfortunate how he couldn’t beat his demons, but I wish more than anything he hadn’t doted on his father so damn much. He might have had a chance otherwise. I felt his post-war days were written much more raw and allowed me to get through the pages.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2019
Fortunate Son is one of the best books I’ve ever read. I’m honestly upset this was never required reading when I was in high school because I think everyone should read this book, especially younger generations like my own who were never personally affected by the Vietnam War. I was also very emotional while reading this book knowing that Lewis Puller committed suicide only a few years after the book was published.
September 1, 2023
A powerful book for me. I was of draft age at the time of the Vietnam War and have often pondered what would have happened had I been drafted (I was 1-A at the time of the draft lottery). Somehow I never got called. I will always reflect on what happened to those like Puller who did get called and what they have had to live with as a result.
July 8, 2023
Excellent autobiography by Vietnam War veteran Lewis Puller, Jr. I recommend it because of the honest way Puller shares his experiences before, during, and after the war and the far-reaching effect the war had on his life. Well-written!
April 1, 2024
A riveting account of one mans struggle to rebuild his life after being wounded in Vietnam. Being the on of famous Marine Lewis "Chesty" Puller places a heavy burden on the author to succeed in his fathers eyes only to see injury and death follow.
January 23, 2019
Tough read in spots. Having heard about Lewis Puller’s book and life via the Jocko William podcast, I knew what was coming. But it’s a powerful book of recovery and strength.
October 7, 2019
The best book I have ever read concerning his time in Vietnam and after!!! Definitely a must read!!!;
March 10, 2020
Very well written. Sad, though, that his demons in the end won and he eventually committed suicide at age 48.
July 9, 2023
I heard this as a recommendation on a podcast, and I was hyped to read it.
A powerful and well written book but I found it to be depressingly heavy.
A powerful and well written book but I found it to be depressingly heavy.
November 18, 2023
A fantastic story of a man who tells his story of his experiences in Vietnam and how he was treated once he returned. An incredibly sad story, but also incredibly motivating.
April 10, 2024
Great book. Highly recommend.
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June 2, 2024This book broke my heart.
December 19, 2024
The ending of this book is heartbreaking when you know what comes next. I hope he finally found some peace.
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