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For award recipient Maj Benjamin Middendorf, leadership is earned. It doesn’t come from a rank stitched on an arm or pinned or a shoulder.

“I was nominated because of my peers and that’s humbling because peer leadership is a lot harder when they don’t have to follow you,” Middendorf said. “You want someone to follow you because of who you are as a man, not because of your rank, and that’s what I try to do.”

Middendorf is the recipient of this year’s prestigious LtCol William G. Leftwich, Jr. Trophy for Outstanding Leadership for his actions while deployed with Golf Co., 2d Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment, in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. Recipients must be active-duty Marine captains in the ground combat arms when nominated. Through personal example, they must set the standard that all other officers seek to emulate.

He accepted the award at the Marine Corps Association & Foundation’s 10th Annual Ground Awards Dinner on Thursday, June 6, 2013, in Arlington, Virginia.

“This award recognizes the hard work (my Marines) did,” Middendorf said. “They performed magnificently; I happened to be the guy in charge.”

The award is presented annually in memory of Navy Cross recipient LtCol William G. Leftwich, USMC, killed in action when his helicopter crashed in the Republic of Vietnam on Nov. 18, 1970.

“(Leftwich) really epitomized the very best of who we are as Marine officers and I wanted to make sure if I led Marines in combat to do it to the best of my abilities, and that’s what Leftwich stood for,” Middendorf said.

It’s a namesake that hits home for Middendorf. His father served in the Marine Corps for four years and fought in Vietnam.

“It really meant a lot to me being that (Leftwich) died in Vietnam, because that’s where my dad was and it gave me a tie back to those guys,” Middendorf said. “They gave everything for their country, even when (the war) wasn’t supported.”

His father was a profound influence on Middendorf’s childhood and his decision to serve in the Marine Corps. He originally enlisted in the National Guard at 17 years old as an infantryman for one year before attending West Point. Before he graduated, he applied and was accepted for an interservice transfer to the Marine Corps.

“It’s because the Marines were always the best,” Middendorf said. “The Marines are going to be there and not always have the best equipment and we can always do a lot more with a lot less. It’s a healthy mantra especially given the times of today.”

To be the best, Middendorf stays up to date on the ever-changing Corps. He has been a member of the Marine Corps Association & Foundation since he attended The Basic School. He subscribes to the Marine Corps Gazette for its opinionated articles written by Marines about best practices in the Corps.

“If we consider ourselves professionals and we’re supposed to peer review and challenge the status quo, one very good place to do that is the Gazette,” Middendorf said. “I look forward to seeing what’s in there every month for thought-provoking things. It’s important as professionals and as Marines because the costs are just too high not to.”

Middendorf said it was “reinvigorating” to attend the MCA&F dinner with General James F. Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps, as the guest speaker. At his table sat 12 stars, he said, and an estimated 90 years of combined experience in the Corps. The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, SgtMaj Micheal Barrett, assisted the Commandant on stage with the award presentations.

Award ceremonies like these are important to encourage competition and publically award excellence in the Marine Corps. Those qualities are integral to earning respect and leadership from peers.

“Marines epitomize excellence and when you’re recognized for going above that and stand out among your peers, it continues to push the rest of us to do more and be better every single day and do justice to the Marines under our charge,” Middendorf said.

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One thousand names are etched into the steely marble at the memorial chapel at Belleau Wood. The number of casualties and missing Marines from the epic World War I battle in France leaves 24-year-old Cpl Kevin Hoffman somber and “speechless.”

“As a wounded warrior, you can still relate to being hurt in war even when you think about just how bloody World War I was,” Hoffman said. “I think every generation of warriors can relate on some level no matter what. Technology changes in war but the people who fight it don’t.”

Hoffman was among 32 wounded warriors and support team members who traveled to France in June 2013 to visit battle sites integral to U.S. history. The Marine Corps Association & Foundation funded the trip as part of its Commanders’ Forum program to foster professional military education. Some of the sites included the WWI battlefield at Belleau Wood and the WWII U.S. Army landing sites and battlefields in Normandy at Omaha and Utah beaches.

Standing on the soil of Belleau Wood was an invaluable experience for SSgt Paul Valentin. He has spent the past two years as protocol chief for the Wounded Warrior Regiment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and also attended the trip.

“To me, it was an honor and privilege to go to hallowed ground where Marines had died before me,” Valentin said. “It’s about understanding your roots as a Marine.”

Belleau Wood was an especially historic battle for the Marine Corps because it was the first time Marines had fought in large formations in regiments and as a division. Valentin said there was no better lesson than seeing the battle site in the flesh rather than reading the details from the pages of a history book. There were still bullet scars in the trees and artillery shells on the ground, he said.

Valentin said it’s important to relay those lessons to the wounded Marines at Walter Reed who are relatively fresh from combat and recovering from various injuries. It resonates with them because not every Marine is battle hardened, he said, and sometimes they need a reminder of their vital role in the larger story of the Marine Corps.

“The things they’re doing now in Afghanistan are going to be written in history,” Valentin said. “A Marine 50 years from now will read about it. There is a purpose to what we do as Marines.”

Valentin said he is grateful for the Marine Corps Association & Foundation for footing the bill because most junior Marines cannot afford a similar trip on their paychecks. Valentin has been a member of the association for seven years.

“We’re thankful for this great organization that supports our Marines and takes care of us,” Valentin said.

As for history buff Hoffman, he can cross off at least a few important military sites from his bucket list. But it is Belleau Wood that makes him proud to be from 3d Battalion, Sixth Marines. He remembers his fallen brothers every day as he slips the French fourragere awarded to his regiment for their epic fight at Belleau Wood over his left shoulder.

“How many Marines from their unit get to see their history up close?” he asked.

“They’ll be stories I’ll pass on to my kids,” Hoffman said.

The 2012 Lou Lowery Award was presented to LCpl Jason Morrison at Camp Margarita, Marine Corps Base Pendleton, Calif., on Aug. 16, 2013. The Lowery Award is sponsored by the Marine Corps Association & Foundation, publisher of Leatherneck and the Marine Corps Gazette.

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PFC D.M. Isabelle center, is the recipient of the "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award and is pictured with Col Daniel J. Haas, Commanding Officer, Recruit Training Regiment, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.
(Photo by Cpl Rodion Zabolotniy.)

"Chesty" Puller's legacy of leadership continues to inspire today's generations of new Marine recruits.

The Marine Corps Association & Foundation provides the "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award for each graduating company at the Parris Island and San Diego Recruit Depots. PFC D.M. Isabelle was recognized with the award at the July 19, 2013, Bravo Company, graduation for 1st Recruit Training Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.

The "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award is presented to the Marine of each graduating company who demonstrated the highest potential for future leadership and responsibility in the Marine Corps. Approximately 90 recruit training companies graduate each year and one recruit honor graduate is selected from each company.

LtGen Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller was a highly regarded and inspirational leader, and one of the most decorated U.S. Marines in history. He is the only Marine to be awarded five Navy Crosses and received the nation's second highest military decoration a total of six times. In addition to the five Navy Crosses, he was also awarded the United States Army Distinguished Service Cross.

The "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award, other honor graduate awards and awards for all the Marine Corps' formal schools are presented through the MCA&F Marine Excellence Awards Program. Each year MCA&F gives awards to recognize nearly 9,000 deserving Marines and provides about 97 percent of all awards distributed in the Corps outside the USMC awards system.

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The "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award.
(Photo by Ron Lunn.)

Member Salute is a series of brief profiles describing the diverse Marine Corps Association & Foundation members from around the world.

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Col Michael Peznola, USMC, is currently stationed at Marine Corps Base Quantico and has served for 28 years.

He attended the MCA&F 2012 Ground Awards Dinner in Arlington, Virginia, to hear the featured speaker, LtGen John M Paxton, Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps speak. He also wanted to reconnect with current affairs of the Corps because he spent the previous three years in Europe at a joint position.

Peznola said he has been a member of the Marine Corps Association & Foundation since he was a second lieutenant at The Basic School.

“It’s not forced upon folks, but joining the Marine Corps Association is a good thing to do,” Peznola said. “As I got older I found out about all the other things the association did, but for two-thirds of my career I got the Gazette. Reading that as captains and majors becomes something to debate about. They do great things for the Marine Corps and the community.”

He said his Marines have received some of the MCA&F-sponsored awards for superior academic performance and have been recognized as honor graduates.

“When Marines can get a Ka-bar or a plaque for doing well at a school that means a lot,” Peznola said.

The Marine Corps Association & Foundation recognized LtCol Brian L. Gilman with the General Thomas Holcomb Writing Award for his article titled, "Worthy of His Sufferings: How Strategic Leaders Learned from Failure" June 8, 2013.

Gilman is a student at the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The faculty at the college chooses the recipient from papers submitted by Marine Corps students. Gilman received a plaque and $1,000 prize from MCA&F.

The writing award is named in remembrance of General Thomas Holcomb, the 17th Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1936 to 1943. Holcomb was a Navy Cross recipient and the first Marine to achieve the rank of General. After retiring from the Marine Corps, Holcomb served as the United States Minister to the Union of South Africa.

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PFC R.C. Skibicki, center, is the recipient of the "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award and is pictured with BGen Lori Reynolds, commanding general, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island/Eastern Recruiting Region, left, and SgtMaj Gary W. Buck, depot Sergeant Major, right.
Photo by Cpl Alex W. Kouns. 

"Chesty" Puller's legacy of leadership continues to inspire today's generations of new Marine recruits.

The Marine Corps Association & Foundation provides the "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award for each graduating company at the Parris Island and San Diego Recruit Depots.

PFC R.C. Skibicki, was recognized with the award at the Aug. 2, 2013, Fox Company graduation for 2d Recruit Training Battalion,  Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island. 

The "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award is presented to the Marine of each graduating company who demonstrated the highest potential for future leadership and responsibility in the Marine Corps. Approximately 90 recruit training companies graduate each year and one recruit honor graduate is selected from each company.

LtGen Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller was one of the most decorated U.S. Marines in history, and is the only Marine to be awarded five Navy Crosses. He received the nation's second highest military decoration a total of six times. In addition to the five Navy Crosses, he was also awarded the United States Army Distinguished Service Cross. Puller started his USMC career as an enlisted man at MCRD Parris Island. He saw service throughout the Banana wars, fought and commanded in the bloodiest battles of WWII and Korea, including walking out of the Chosin Reservoir as Commanding Officer of 1st Marines. 

The heirloom trophy is specially designed by sculptor Mark Byrd, a former Marine and Vietnam Vet. Chesty is depicted in the statue from a famous photograph during the Korean War. 

The "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award, other honor graduate awards and awards for all the Marine Corps' formal schools are presented through the MCA&F Marine Excellence Awards Program. Each year MCA&F gives awards to recognize nearly 9,000 deserving Marines and provides about 97 percent of all awards distributed in the Corps outside the USMC awards system.

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The "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award photo.
(Photo by Ron Lunn.)

Want to learn more about what's going on at YOUR Professional Association?

The MCA&F Member Update is our monthly, electronic newsletter for our members, subscribers and requesters.

Informational in nature, the Update focuses on recent and
projected MCA&F happenings, directions and
Professional Events and features upcoming highlights from both of MCA's
Flagship Magazines, Leatherneck and Marine Corps Gazette. We include a
Marine oriented Trivia Contest in each edition and also showcase
significant events of interest from Marine Corps history and include
rare photographs from various archives.

The MCA&F Member Update is sent by email as well as posted on our web site in an archive for that purpose.

We hope you enjoy reading our newsletter and we hope you will
let us know what you think about it. Each edition of the newsletter
includes a link you can click so you can send us your reaction and
suggestions. We welcome your input.

Below is the most current edition of the Member Update Newsletter. Click the link below to see all Newsletters.

August 2013 Member Update

All Member Update Newsletters

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Clik here to view.If you are interested in Marine Corps aviation, you MUST NOT miss this great series from Jim McCallum aka "The Ole Gunny".

Read Jim's blogs here!

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Member Salute is a series of brief profiles describing the diverse Marine Corps Association & Foundation members from around the world.

Susan Guillory has been attending the Marine Corps Association & Foundation’s award dinners for the past eight years on behalf of the Battelle Memorial Institute, the non-profit arm of Battelle. The company is a corporate sponsor for many of the awards presented to Marines including the Chase Award, the Intel Unit of the Year Award, the Hogaboom Award and the Civilian Logistician of the Year Award. Guillory has been a member of the Marine Corps Association & Foundation for five years.

The Chase Award is part of the Boldness and Daring Awards contest, which highlights Marine writers of all ranks who submit an article to the Marine Corps Gazette with opinions against the status -quo and solutions that offer out-of-the-box thinking to better the Corps. Guillory said the non-profit funds education and these awards spark betterment and award excellence.

“The writing award pushes people to be adventurous, daring and to push the limits, and promoting that kind of award is something the company supports,” Guillory said.. “I think it’s so rewarding to see what our young men and women are doing in the Marine Corps.”

It takes hard work and discipline to make it through Officer Candidates School, but those traits were magnified for honor grad Louise Nowak.

"I worked hard everyday and continued to give it my all when times were exhausting," Nowak said. "The competition was tough all around the board, which made me push harder, because I'm driven by competition as well as my own self motivation."

Nowak received her framed certificate, MCA wristwatch and the book "Reminiscences of a Marine" during the OCS graduation at Marine Corps Base Quantico Aug. 16, 2013. The Marine Corps Association & Foundation presented five awards to candidates and nine awards to staff members.

It was tough competition for the candidates, Nowak said, because many were prior service or ROTC candidates. Nowak was enlisted from 2006 to 2010 as a combat engineer and completed two deployments. She is now a senior at Carroll University majoring in exercise science.

"I knew going into OCS that there was much to learn regardless of my prior service," Nowak said. "And just as for anything, you get out what you put in. Being the Honor Graduate was not my goal, my goal was to give it my all and take away as much as possible."

The candidates that the Marine Corps Association & Foundation recognized were Louise M. Nowak for the Honor Grad Award for highest average score and Marine Corps Association Gung Ho Award for 1st Platoon, Golf Company; Livingston C. Lukow for the MCA Leadership Award; Daniel F. Sandoval for the Marine Corps Association Gung Ho Award for 1st Platoon, Echo Company; and John H. Mensch Jr. for the Marine Corps Association Gung Ho Award for 4th Platoon, India Company.

MCA&F also awarded OCS enlisted staff including Echo Company D.I. of the Cycle GySgt Nicholas M. Gogol; Golf Company D.I. of the Cycle SSgt Christopher A. Harrison; India Company D.I. of the Cycle SSgt Scott Hemenway; Echo Company Corpsman of the Cycle HM3 Jason Young; Golf Company Corpsman of the Cycle HM John Master; India Company Corpsman of the Cycle HM Kenny Columbus; Tactics Instructor Sgt Michael D. Hodges for Academic Instructor of the Cycle; Sgt Paul B. Price for the Eagle Award; and Cpl Allan E. Young for Physical Training Instructor of the Cycle.

The OCS graduate awards are presented through the MCA&F Marine Excellence Awards program. Each year MCA&F gives nearly 11,000 awards to deserving Marines and provides about 97 percent of all awards distributed in the Corps outside the USMC awards system. The program offers tangible recognition of professional accomplishments and recognizes the honor graduates throughout the Marine Corps officer and enlisted formal schools.

Marston Pavilion was the scene of the Marine Corps Association & Foundation’s (MCAF) end-of-summer luncheon at Camp Lejeune Sept. 11, 2013 and more than 150 Marines and friends of the Corps gathered to socialize, enjoy an appetizing meal from Carolina BBQ, and listen to the guest speaker.

MajGen Mark “Droopy” Clark, commander of U.S. Marine Forces Special Operations Command, served as the featured speaker. He briefed the audience on the focus and mission of Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC). He took great care to explain MARSOC’s operating space, organization, capabilities and current operations and took questions from the audience at the conclusion of his presentation.

MCA&F hosts dinner and luncheon events to provide professional development opportunities for Marines, which are unavailable elsewhere. The events present opportunities for top Marine leaders to express candid views on current issues of importance to Marines in a social setting. MCA&F hosts two luncheons and a dinner at Camp Lejeune each year.

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PFC K.N. Toler (center) is the recipient of the "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award and is pictured with BGen Lori Reynolds, commanding general, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island/Eastern Recruiting Region (left) and SgtMaj Gary W. Buck, depot Sergeant Major.
Photo by Cpl Alex W. Kouns.

"Chesty" Puller's legacy of leadership continues to inspire today's generation of new Marine recruits.

The Marine Corps Association & Foundation provides the "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award for each graduating company at the Parris Island and San Diego Recruit Depots.

PFC K.N. Toler was recognized with the award at the Aug. 2, 2013, Papa Company graduation for 4th Recruit Training Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.

The "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award is presented to the Marine of each graduating company who demonstrated the highest potential for future leadership and responsibility in the Marine Corps. Approximately 90 recruit training companies graduate each year and one recruit honor graduate is selected from each company.

LtGen Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller was one of the most decorated U.S. Marines in history, and is the only Marine to be awarded five Navy Crosses. He received the nation's second highest military decoration a total of six times. In addition to the five Navy Crosses, he was also awarded the United States Army Distinguished Service Cross. Puller started his USMC career as an enlisted man at MCRD Parris Island. He saw service throughout the Banana wars, fought and commanded in the bloodiest battles of WWII and Korea, including walking out of the Chosin Reservoir as Commanding Officer of 1st Marines.

The heirloom trophy is specially designed by sculptor Mark Byrd, a former Marine and Vietnam Vet. Chesty is depicted in the statue from a famous photograph during the Korean War. The "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award, other honor graduate awards and awards for all the Marine Corps' formal schools are presented through the MCA&F Marine Excellence Awards Program. Each year MCA&F gives awards to recognize nearly 9,000 deserving Marines and provides about 97 percent of all awards distributed in the Corps outside the USMC awards system.

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The "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award photo.
Photo by Ron Lunn.

Did you miss the dinner? Read our overview of the event.

Download the Intelligence Awards Program(Opens as a PDF)

The Marine Corps intelligence community provides commanders on the ground the necessary information they need to make a decision. Without them, commanders would be blind.

The Marines who work in intelligence gather the information they have collected from a variety of sources and make it comprehensible and valuable to the troops on the battlefield.

“In the Marine Corps, we always say intel leads operations,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Andrew G. Lutz, recipient of the Marine Corps Intelligence Officer of the Year Award. “It’s kind of in a joking manner, but in all matters you can’t have operations without intel or intel without operations.”

The intelligence community gathered at the 3rd Annual Intelligence Awards Dinner Sept. 16, 2013, to celebrate seven Marines, an intelligence community civilian employee, and 3d Radio Battalion for their superior performance and innovation in accomplishing the mission.

MSgt Jonathan S. French, the recipient of the Director of Intelligence Innovation Award, designed databases while serving in Afghanistan that allow intelligence analysts to focus on the imagery they receive instead of on administrative paperwork.

“I saw that Marines were spending more time on the formatting of the final product instead of focusing on what the warfighter needed on the ground,” French said.

Another problem was that the information was not in a searchable format.

“The database reuses information gathered previously, so when a customer puts in their request for information it pulls it from the database,” French said. “It also structures the final products so it can be searched.”

Another aspect of the intelligence community is being able to understand and interpret different language—a skill Sgt Miguel Iles excels at.

Iles, recipient of the Language Professional of the Year Award, learned Chinese while in college. When he joined the Marine Corps, they decided to use his talent for languages and sent him to the Defense Language Institute to learn Korean.

“It is an extremely demanding course,” Iles said. “In less than a year and a half they brought my Korean skills up to match my Chinese.”

Iles deployed twice to the Korean Peninsula where he served as a Signals Surveillance Team Leader.

“It was very rewarding to be able to use the language in an intelligence capacity and as an interpreter,” Iles said.

Recently, Iles was assigned to the Defense Language Institute as a Chinese language instructor and as platoon commander for the students learning Asian languages.

“I’m very happy to be able to teach and give back to the fleet,” Iles said. “I hope to instill a love of language learning in the Marines so they will continue to be self driven to keep up their skills. That way, when they are needed, they will be ready to go.”

The intelligence community is also always looking for ways to improve how they operate and adapt to the needs of the Corps. Capt Jesse S. Sloman, recipient of the MajGen Michael E. Ennis Award for Literary Excellence, suggested changing the selection process for intelligence analysts in his article for the Small Wars Journal.

“I saw Marines that were really excelling and who had potential,” Sloman said. “But the pipeline process wouldn’t allow them to get the most out of their intel career.”

Instead of the MOS being a pipeline option, Sloman suggested that the intelligence analyst be an additional MOS that Marines would have to compete for later on.

“I think that would let them get Marines who are a little more mature and who know what they want to do in the Corps,” Sloman said.

In keeping with the tradition of honoring Marines, the Marine Corps Association & Foundation hosted the dinner alongside Marine Corps Intelligence Enterprise in order to recognize the outstanding performance of the award recipients.

The awards were provided through MCA&F’s Marine Excellence Awards Program, which provides Marines with the incentive to do well in their professional military education and career. Last year, MCA&F distributed 10,988 awards.

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The Marine Corps Association Foundation is helping to put modern-day libraries in the hands of active-duty Marines. The Foundation provided a professional library to Company C, Battalion Landing Team 1/4, 13th MEU, that included both paper copies of professional books and Kindles already loaded with professional reading.

This donation has made 1stSgt Joseph Caputo's current deployment all the better.

"It allows access to many, many books without having to pack an entire library; storage space is very limited on a ship," Caputo said. ". . . I am able to have access to many books without the burden of weight or storage concern."

The Kindle donation is part of MCAF's Commanders' Unit Library Program, which provides the Commandant's Professional Reading List to active-duty Marines. Reading these works of history and tactics helps develop more knowledgeable Marines and ultimately, a more effective amphibious force-in-readiness.

Marines must know the Corps' heritage as well as its historic leaders and battles. Learning from those past trials will equip today's generation for the present challenges both in garrison and in the field.

"I am interested in books from the professional reading list in order to broaden my knowledge of warfare, tactics, leadership and management," Caputo said. ". . . Access to these books allows me to construct reviews and guided discussions with a wide reference base."

Each year, MCAF delivers comprehensive libraries to hundreds of Marine units to establish or augment their Commanders' Unit Libraries with the aim of fostering professional development. MCAF encourages active-duty Marines to both stay abreast of current issues and embrace the Marine Corps' storied history.

"I would like to add that I think the Kindle program is great," Caputo said. " . . . Thank you for the generous donation of these devices!"

Learn more about our Commanders Unit Library Program and how to apply for your unit to receive a donation.

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PFC D.R. Fairfax , center, is the recipient of the "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award and takes a group photo with Col Daniel J. Haas, commanding officer, Recruit Training Regiment, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island/ Eastern Recruiting Region. (Photo by PFC Alex Kouns.)

"Chesty" Puller's legacy of leadership continues to inspire today's generations of new Marine recruits.

The Marine Corps Association & Foundation provides the "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award for each graduating company at the Parris Island and San Diego Recruit Depots. PFC D.R. Fairfax was recognized with the award at the Sept. 13, 2013, Delta Company graduation for 1st Recruit Training Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.

The "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award is presented to the Marine of each graduating company who demonstrated the highest potential for future leadership and responsibility in the Marine Corps. Approximately 90 recruit training companies graduate each year and one recruit honor graduate is selected from each company.

LtGen Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller was one of the most decorated U.S. Marines in history, and is the only Marine to be awarded five Navy Crosses. He received the nation's second highest military decoration a total of six times. In addition to the five Navy Crosses, he was also awarded the United States Army Distinguished Service Cross. Puller started his USMC career as an enlisted man at MCRD Parris Island. He saw service throughout the Banana wars, fought and commanded in the bloodiest battles of WWII and Korea, including walking out of the Chosin Reservoir as Commanding Officer of 1st Marines.

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Clik here to view.The heirloom trophy is specially designed by sculptor Mark Byrd, a Marine Corps and Vietnam veteran. Chesty is depicted in the statue from a famous photograph during the Korean War. The "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award, other honor graduate awards and awards for all the Marine Corps' formal schools are presented through the MCA&F Marine Excellence Awards Program. Each year MCA&F gives awards to recognize nearly 9,000 deserving Marines and provides about 97 percent of all awards distributed in the Corps outside the USMC awards system.

The "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award. (Photo credit by Ron Lunn.)

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PFC S.J. Riveracora, center, the recipient of the "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award, takes a group photo with Col Daniel J. Haas, left.
(Photo by PFC Perez Quinones.)

"Chesty" Puller's legacy of leadership continues to inspire today's generations of new Marine recruits.

The Marine Corps Association & Foundation provides the "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award for each graduating company at the Parris Island and San Diego Recruit Depots.

PFC S.J. Riveracora was recognized with the award at the Sept, 20, 2013, Hotel Company graduation for 2d Recruit Training Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.

The "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award is presented to the Marine of each graduating company who demonstrated the highest potential for future leadership and responsibility in the Marine Corps. Approximately 90 recruit training companies graduate each year and one recruit honor graduate is selected from each company.

LtGen Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller was one of the most decorated U.S. Marines in history, and is the only Marine to be awarded five Navy Crosses. He received the nation's second highest military decoration a total of six times. In addition to the five Navy Crosses, he was also awarded the United States Army Distinguished Service Cross. Puller started his USMC career as an enlisted man at MCRD Parris Island. He saw service throughout the Banana wars, fought and commanded in the bloodiest battles of WWII and Korea, including walking out of the Chosin Reservoir as Commanding Officer of 1st Marines.

The heirloom trophy is specially designed by sculptor Mark Byrd, a Marine Corps and Vietnam veteran. Chesty is depicted in the statue from a famous photograph during the Korean War. The "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award, other honor graduate awards and awards for all the Marine Corps' formal schools are presented through the MCA&F Marine Excellence Awards Program. Each year MCA&F gives awards to recognize nearly 9,000 deserving Marines and provides about 97 percent of all awards distributed in the Corps outside the USMC awards system.

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The "Chesty" Puller Recruit Company Honor Graduate Award.
(Photo credit by Ron Lunn.)