Ralph Puckett Jr

On Hill 205 in Korea, Ralph Puckett Jr. was wounded, surrounded, and unable to move. He ordered his Rangers to leave him behind. They refused.

That moment captured the loyalty Colonel Ralph Puckett Jr. inspired throughout an extraordinary military life. A Korean War and Vietnam War combat veteran, U.S. Army Ranger commander, Special Forces officer, and Medal of Honor recipient, Puckett became one of the most respected figures in modern Ranger history.

Born on December 8, 1926, in Tifton, Georgia, Puckett graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1949 and was commissioned as an Infantry officer. After assignment to occupation duty in the Pacific, he volunteered for the newly formed Eighth Army Ranger Company when the Korean War began. The young first lieutenant was selected to command the company and given only weeks to prepare his Rangers for combat.

Hill 205 and the Battle That Defined His Legacy

On November 25, 1950, Puckett led his Rangers in an assault on Hill 205 near Unsan, Korea.

Enemy mortar, machine-gun, and small-arms fire threatened to stop the attack. Puckett repeatedly exposed himself in the open to draw hostile fire, allowing his Rangers to locate and destroy concealed enemy positions. The company captured the hill, but the fiercest fighting came after nightfall.

Chinese forces launched repeated counterattacks against the Ranger position. Although wounded, Puckett continued moving among his men, directing the defense, coordinating supporting fire, and encouraging his soldiers. His Rangers defeated five attacks.

During a sixth assault, the position was overwhelmed. Puckett was severely wounded when enemy mortar rounds exploded near his foxhole and left him with limited mobility. Believing his men would be killed trying to save him, he ordered them to withdraw without him.

They refused.

His Rangers fought back to his position, carried him down the hill under enemy fire, and brought him to safety. Puckett then continued directing artillery against the enemy-held position. His official Medal of Honor citation records his extraordinary heroism and selflessness during the battle.

For Hill 205, Puckett originally received the Distinguished Service Cross. More than seventy years later, that award was upgraded to the Medal of Honor.

A Ranger Who Refused to Leave the Army

Puckett survived his Korean War wounds and remained in military service.

His subsequent career placed him at the center of several important chapters in U.S. Army Ranger and Special Forces history. He served as a Ranger instructor, commanded mountain Ranger training, and became the first Ranger adviser to the U.S. Army mission in Colombia, where he helped establish the Escuela de Lanceros, Colombia's Ranger school.

After completing Special Forces training, Puckett served with the 10th Special Forces Group in Germany, commanding operational teams and participating in demanding unconventional warfare training. His career connected the Korean War Ranger companies with Ranger training, international Ranger development, and the growing U.S. Army Special Forces community.

Then came Vietnam.

Ralph Puckett in the Vietnam War

In 1967, Lieutenant Colonel Puckett commanded the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry during combat operations in Vietnam.

On August 13, 1967, his extraordinary heroism near Duc Pho earned him another Distinguished Service Cross, announced in Headquarters, U.S. Army Vietnam, General Orders No. 6075. This remained his separate Vietnam War DSC after his Korean award was upgraded to the Medal of Honor in 2021.

Puckett also received two Silver Stars in Vietnam. One recognized his actions on August 26, 1967, when he volunteered to enter an insecure landing zone by helicopter to assist in evacuating a critically wounded soldier. The second recognized his leadership during fighting near Chu Lai on September 27, when he continued directing the defense after an enemy grenade exploded close to him and wounded him. The awards were published in Americal Division General Orders No. 1522 and No. 1297.

His combat record also included two Bronze Star Medals for valor, five Purple Hearts, ten Air Medals, and the Army Commendation Medal. Official Army sources confirm these awards, along with his World War II Victory Medal.

Puckett's Legion of Merit total requires an important historical note. Some later Army summaries state that he received two, but an official 2015 U.S. Army account records three Legions of Merit, and Hall of Valor separately lists three awards based on the United States Military Academy Register of Graduates. Victoriacross.ca therefore uses three awards in his reconstructed ribbon rack, represented by two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters.

His documented foreign recognition included the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm and Colombia's Order of Military Merit. Both are specifically recorded by the West Point Association of Graduates.

From Combat Commander to Ranger Mentor

Puckett retired from the U.S. Army as a colonel in 1971, but his service to soldiers continued for decades.

He became an inaugural inductee into the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame in 1992 and later served as the first Honorary Colonel of the 75th Ranger Regiment, beginning in 1996. What was originally expected to be a short appointment continued until 2006.

West Point selected Puckett as a Distinguished Graduate in 2004, recognizing not only his battlefield record but also decades of service to soldiers, the Army, and his community. He later received the Infantry's Doughboy Award in 2007.

For younger Rangers, Puckett was more than a historical figure. He continued returning to military events, training areas, and Ranger gatherings, sharing lessons learned through a lifetime of leading soldiers.

Medal of Honor After More Than 70 Years

On May 21, 2021, President Joe Biden presented retired Colonel Ralph Puckett Jr. with the Medal of Honor for his actions on Hill 205.

The award upgraded the Distinguished Service Cross he had received for that battle. It did not create a second Korean War decoration for the same action. His independent Vietnam War Distinguished Service Cross remained in his honours record.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in attended the White House ceremony, underscoring the continuing significance of Puckett's actions in the defense of the Republic of Korea.

Two years later, South Korea honored him again. On April 25, 2023, President Yoon Suk Yeol presented Puckett with the Taegeuk Order of Military Merit, which the South Korean government identifies as the nation's highest military honor.

Death, National Tribute and Lasting Legacy

Ralph Puckett Jr. died peacefully at his home in Columbus, Georgia, on April 8, 2024, at the age of 97. He was the last living Medal of Honor recipient for actions performed during the Korean War.

On April 29, 2024, Puckett lay in honor in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol, an exceptional national tribute authorized by Congress.

His legacy continued after his death. On November 25, 2025, exactly seventy-five years after the battle for Hill 205 began, a seven-foot bronze statue of Colonel Puckett was unveiled at Fort Benning, Georgia, overlooking Victory Pond in the Ranger training environment.

Ralph Puckett's life connected generations of American soldiers. He commanded Rangers in Korea, survived devastating wounds, helped build Ranger training in Colombia, served in Special Forces, returned to combat as an infantry battalion commander in Vietnam, and spent decades mentoring the soldiers who followed him.

But the clearest expression of his legacy may still be found on Hill 205.

When his position was collapsing and he could no longer walk, Puckett ordered his Rangers to save themselves.

They went back for him instead.

That loyalty was not created in the final moments of the battle. It had already been earned by a leader who had spent the night proving that he would never ask his soldiers to face a danger he was unwilling to face himself.