Biden awards Medal of Honor to Col. Ralph Puckett
Korean War veteran Col. Ralph Puckett Jr. is awarded the Medal of Honor by President Biden at the White House.
President Biden awarded the Medal of Honor to Col. Ralph Puckett on Friday, more than 70 years after Puckett’s act of service during the Korean War.
Puckett was the recipient of Biden’s first medal of honor for his leadership during the war where he risked his own life to draw enemy fire away from his platoon.
The president said he was "incredibly proud" to give the nation’s most prestigious military honor to the colonel and called the award "long overdue."
"Today, after more than a decade of effort, including support from my good friend, John McCain, God rest his soul... I'm incredibly proud to give Colonel Ralph Puckett’s acts of valor the full recognition they have always deserved," Biden said.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in attended the ceremony along with Biden, as he was in Washington for a summit between the two world leaders. Moon addressed the event and spoke in Korean, saying he found it "incredibly meaningful" to attend the ceremony. He said he was the first foreign leader to attend a medal of honor ceremony and hugged Puckett after giving his address.
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Biden said having Moon attend the ceremony was an "important recognition of all our nations have achieved together."
Vice President Kamala Harris and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin were both in attendance, as were other members of the Biden White House and three members of Congress.
Biden said that in preparations for the ceremony, 94-year-old Puckett asked: "Why all the fuss.. Can't they just mail it to me?"
"I was gonna make a joke about the Post Office but I decided not to do that," Biden said. "I think you deserve a little bit of fuss."
Puckett, at the time a first lieutenant and commander of the 8th U.S. Army Ranger Company, held a strategic position near Unsan, known as Hill 205, for two days in November 1950 while fighting off numerous enemy attacks and suffering multiple wounds.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will award his first Medal of Honor this week to a retired colonel for acts of bravery during the Korean War, the White House announced Wednesday. (ARSOF)
Puckett’s unit launched a daytime offensive on Hill 205, and in return, enemy forces launched mortar, machine gun and small arms fire toward them.
While enemy fire rained down on his platoon, Puckett left the relative safety of his position to run across an open area three times to distract the enemy and draw fire away from his unit. This allowed his unit to find and destroy enemy positions and seize Hill 205, the White House said.
Puckett was seriously wounded when mortar rounds landed in his foxhole, limiting his mobility. He ordered his men to evacuate and leave him behind, but they refused. While under enemy fire, the Rangers retrieved Puckett from the foxhole and brought him to the bottom of the hill, where he directed operations against the enemy.
"First Lieutenant Puckett’s extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service," the White House said in a statement.
At one point, Puckett arose slowly to stand beside the president as an aide read out the story of his heroism. Another aide put his walker squarely in front of him, but Puckett brushed it off to the side. At one point during the readout, an aide and Biden grabbed his arm on each side, before Biden hung the medal around Puckett’s neck.
Puckett after the Korean War spent about a year in combat in Vietnam as a member of the 101st Airborne Division. In 1992, he was an inaugural inductee into the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame.
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Puckett lives in Columbus, Georgia, with his wife of 68 years.
Puckett's Medal of Honor was made possible under the 2020 defense policy bill, which lifted a requirement that such awards be made within five years of the commission of the act of valor for which the individual is being recognized. The five-year limit was waived for Puckett and three other U.S. service members. Puckett's nomination still had to be approved by the defense secretary and president.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
