President Joe Biden will award the Medal of Honor to retired Army Col. Ralph Puckett Jr. on Friday for “conspicuous gallantry during the Korean War.”
The ceremony will mark the first Medal of Honor presentation of Biden’s term and will take place during South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s visit to the White House for discussions on China and a host of other issues.
“Puckett, Jr. distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, while serving as the Commander, 8th U.S. Army Ranger Company during the period of November 25, and 26, 1950, in Korea,” the White House said in a statement.
“Leaving the safety of his position and with full knowledge of the danger,” Puckett put his life on the line to draw enemy fire during an attempt to capture a strategic position. Enemy forces eventually mounted a counterattack later that night, during which he “repeatedly abandoned positions of relative safety to make his way from foxhole to foxhole to check the company’s perimeter, and distributed ammunition amongst the Rangers,” despite already being wounded by a grenade.
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Puckett eventually ordered his men to retreat without him after two mortar explosions left him unable to move without assistance, yet forces were so “inspired and motivated by the extraordinary leadership and courageous example exhibited by First Lieutenant Puckett” that they withstood enemy artillery fire and successfully evacuated him out of the area.
After retiring, Puckett “was an inaugural inductee into the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame and, from 1996 to 2006, he served as the first Honorary Colonel of the 75th Ranger Regiment.”
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He lives in Columbus, Georgia, with his wife, Jean Martin. They have been married for 68 years.
