It's a rare glimpse of the Marines' most well-known and beloved general.
A photo unearthed from the Marine Corps Archives and posted to the Archives Flickr and Facebook accounts shows Lt. Gen. Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller out of uniform and apparently in retirement.
Puller's hair is graying in the photo. His hands are jammed into the pockets of his brown suit and he's holding a tobacco pipe in his teeth. At his elbow is his wife, Virginia. The couple appears to be on the porch of their home.
The photo itself holds an element of mystery. Archivist Alisa Whitley said the photo is undated and the photographer is unknown.
The photograph of Puller at his home is part of an eight-box collection of Puller documents that contains about 100 photos of the legendary Marine general, Whitley said.
Puller, who died in 1971 at age 73, is one of the most decorated Marines of all time, earning five Navy Crosses over the course of his 37-year career. He saw combat on the Matanikau River and at Pelelieu in World War II and at Inchon and the Chosin Reservoir in Korea. He retired as a lieutenant general in 1955.
