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Ralph Puckett Jr.US Army officer
Date of Birth: 08.12.1926
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Distinguished Military Service
- Early Life and Military Career
- Korean War and Medal of Honor
- Post-Korean War Career
- Civilian Life and Legacy
- Personal Life and Death
Distinguished Military Service
Ralph Puckett Jr., a U.S. Army officer, earned the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions on November 25, 1950, during the Korean War. In 2021, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest military decoration.
Early Life and Military Career
Puckett served in the Army Reserve Corps from 1943 to 1945. In 1949, he graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he captained the army boxing team. Commissioned as a second lieutenant of infantry, he was assigned to Japan and volunteered for the Rangers. Upon being told no lieutenant officer slots were available in the 8th Ranger Company, he replied, "I'll take a platoon or go as a rifleman," a position several grades below lieutenant. Colonel McGhee, who was forming the company, was so impressed by Puckett's attitude that he placed him in command of the company, a position typically held by a captain.
Korean War and Medal of Honor
On October 11, 1950, the 8th Ranger Company entered the Korean War. The company conducted raids, both day and night. On November 25, 1950, during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, Puckett's company seized Hill 205, a strategic point overlooking the Ch'osan River. The 51-man Ranger force could have been attacked from all sides and surrounded, as they were a mile from the nearest friendly unit. Fortunately for the Rangers, for part of the night, they had artillery support. During the evening, Puckett performed a series of increasingly dangerous tasks, helping to walk in artillery fire around their position to provide them with artillery support in case of further enemy attacks.
At 10 p.m., the Chinese began a mortar barrage on the Ranger position. Over the next 4.5 hours, the Chinese launched six assaults on the hill. Several times, Puckett had to call in artillery fire dangerously close to the Rangers' position. During the battle, he was hit several times, once by grenade fragments and twice by mortar fire that collapsed his bunker. As he lay unconscious from his wounds, he ordered his men to leave him and abandon the position. Two Rangers, David L. Pollock and Billy G. Walls, disobeyed his order and carried him off the hill, then dragged him on the ground when they came under small arms fire. Puckett was evacuated and spent the next year in the hospital recovering from his wounds sustained that night. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions.
Post-Korean War Career
After the Korean War, Puckett served for over two years at the United States Army Infantry School's Ranger Department, as Commander of the Mountain Ranger Division. As the first Ranger Advisor of the U.S. Army Mission to Colombia, he established that country's ranger school. He later commanded Groups B and C of the 10th Special Forces Group in Germany.
In 1967, Lieutenant Colonel Puckett commanded the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam. There, he earned a second Distinguished Service Cross for his heroic leadership in August 1967. While defending a hard-hit night defensive position near Chu Lai, he inspired his troops, who rallied to repel a North Vietnamese attack. A rifle platoon leader, preparing for what he thought would be a last stand, later recalled of Colonel Puckett's effect on the exhausted troops: "...the word that Colonel Puckett was coming was passed like wildfire. Every man straightened up a little taller and there was the feeling that nothing too bad could happen to us now. Ranger was here..."
Civilian Life and Legacy
Colonel Puckett retired in 1971 after 22 years of service. He became National Program Coordinator for Outward Bound, Inc. Puckett later founded a leadership and team-building program, Discovery, Inc. After several years of successfully operating the company in Herndon, Virginia, Puckett moved it to Atlanta and began the Discovery program at The Westminster Schools, a private school corporation that gained national recognition. In 1984, Puckett became the executive vice-president of MicroBilt, Inc., a computer hardware and software company.
Puckett remained active in military affairs and Ranger activities. He was the first inductee into the Ranger Hall of Fame in 1992. From 1996 to 2006, he served as honorary colonel of the 75th Ranger Regiment, for which he was awarded the Army's Outstanding Civilian Service Medal. He was a frequent speaker at graduations and other events at Fort Benning and was an honorary instructor at the Infantry School. In 1998, he received the Order of Saint Maurice and was voted Ranger of the Year by the Korean War Ranger Association. In 1999, he was inducted into the Air Force Order of the Eagle. In 2004, he was inducted into the Tift County, Georgia Hall of Fame and was named a goodwill ambassador for the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation as a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Military Academy. In 2007, he was selected as the Infantry's Doughboy Award recipient.
Puckett authored "Words for Warriors: A Professional Soldier's Notebook" and numerous articles in professional journals.
Personal Life and Death
Puckett resided in Columbus, Georgia, with his wife, Jane (née Martin). They had two daughters (Jane and Martha), one son (Thomas), and six grandchildren (Lauren, Dixon, Martha Leigh, Jane, Sarah, and Jack). On November 30, 2021, Puckett was notified of the recent decision to award him the Medal of Honor for his actions on November 25, 1950. He received the medal at a White House ceremony from President Joe Biden on May 21, 2021.
Ralph Puckett Jr. passed away on April 8, 2024, at his home in Columbus, Georgia, at the age of 97.
