Retired Army Col. Ralph Puckett, who was the final residing Medal of Honor recipient from the Korean Struggle earlier than his demise earlier this month, will lie in honor on the U.S. Capitol, congressional leaders introduced this week.
Puckett, who was an Army Ranger, will obtain the uncommon tribute of mendacity beneath the Capitol rotunda on April 29, Home Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Chief Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., mentioned in a joint assertion Tuesday.
“The extraordinary valor of Col. Ralph Puckett, Jr. represents the most effective of the 1.7 million Individuals who left residence to combat for freedom within the Korean Struggle,” Johnson and Schumer mentioned. “He demonstrated tireless sacrifice for our nation and his fellow Rangers and is an distinctive mannequin for service members and civilians alike.”
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President Joe Biden awarded Puckett the Medal of Honor in 2021 for his heroism within the Korean Struggle.
Starting on Nov. 25, 1950, Puckett, on the time a younger lieutenant, led an organization of 51 Army Rangers in an hours-long battle in opposition to Chinese language forces, within the course of repeatedly exposing himself to enemy fireplace to be able to draw the fireplace away from his males.
Unable to maneuver after struggling a number of critical wounds and with the corporate about to be overrun, Puckett ordered his males to depart him behind and retreat to a safer space. Regardless of the order, his fellow Rangers fought their strategy to him and evacuated him to security.
Puckett initially obtained a Distinguished Service Cross for his actions. However it might be greater than 70 years earlier than the award was upgraded to a Medal of Honor, an honor that Biden mentioned on the 2021 ceremony was “lengthy overdue.”
Puckett’s 22 years within the Army additionally included service in Vietnam, for which he additionally obtained the Distinguished Service Cross and two Silver Stars.
He died April 8 at his residence in Columbus, Ga., at age 97.
Whereas U.S. officers routinely lie in state within the Capitol after their deaths, mendacity in honor on the Capitol is a uncommon tribute for personal residents. Simply six Individuals have been granted that honor, in response to the Architect of the Capitol, the federal company accountable for sustaining the Capitol.
Most not too long ago, Hershel Woodrow “Woody” Williams, who was the final residing Medal of Honor recipient from World Struggle II, lay in honor in 2022. The tribute has additionally been given to a number of Capitol law enforcement officials who died within the line of responsibility, influential evangelical preacher Billy Graham and civil-rights icon Rosa Parks.
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