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Proving Dad wrong… Although he joked & clowned his way through high school, Dennis had a deeply kept secret nobody would ever uncover...he, his siblings, and his mother would frequently be physically and mentally abused by his father. Nicknames like “sissy “ and “mama’s boy” certainly didn’t help instill confidence in this 128 lb slight and sensitive water boy. Long-distance running was the only sport he could find success at...and the taste of winning his first 5 mile race gave him the courage to join the Marines. Boot camp was tough; but failing would prove dad right. Forty pounds later, he emerged as a machine gunner on his way to combat. During the 11 months that he served in Vietnam, he carried an M-60 machine gun through the jungles; and was awarded 3 Purple Hearts along the way. In late April of 1967, on a hill in Khe Sahn, he says he “bought the farm.” In one ambush, he was hit by a hand grenade, shot twice in a space of 2 hours...then torn apart by an 81mm mortar. Severely wounded and dying in a pool of his own blood, he desperately cried out to God. “I really only knew of God,” said Puleo, “I never knew Him in any personal way. My prayer really consisted of no more than begging. I was dying and knew it. What did I have to lose?” After being dragged down that hill he was given the Last Rites, then contracted gas gangrene, phlebitis, even suffered a heart attack. He was put back together with 400 stainless steel sutures and spent a year in and out of V. A. hospitals. After his discharge and recovery, Dennis married the one he had missed the very most: his high school sweetheart, Joanne. He was convinced that he could succeed and NOT make the same mistakes as his dad...in that he would be a kind father, a compassionate husband, and a success in business. He would break the mold.
Click the link at page bottom to
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1st taste of winning
Dennis with his M60
Down to 108 lbs.
at
Dennis receives 3 Purple-Hearts
Dennis's sweetheart Joanne
