| Col . Puckett |
Medal of Honor
Tifton street named for American hero
by Dean Poling photography submitted by the Puckett family
They were outnumbered 10 to one .
In the battle for Hill 205 during the Korean War , Army 1st Lt . Ralph Puckett Jr . suffered injuries so severe he was unable to move .
Despite ordering his men to leave him behind , they fought their way to his side and carried him off the field of battle .
Nearly 71 years later , retired Col . Ralph Puckett , 94 , received the Medal of Honor for the actions he took that day .
As he recovered from his injuries in the early 1950s , Puckett was told he had been recommended to receive the Medal of Honor . But the recommendation was withdrawn and he was instead awarded the prestigious Distinguished Service Cross .
In early July , the City of Tifton held a ceremony to honor Puckett and rename a portion of Victory Drive for him .
“ No one will doubt that Ralph is a warrior ,” retired Col . Robert Choppa , Puckett ’ s Ranger buddy , said during the Tifton ceremony . “ He ’ s our hero , decorated for valor and known for bravery under fire . We also know that he is a true gentleman , a husband , father , friend , a mentor ... and he ’ s my Ranger buddy .”
In an interview late last year , Puckett said he never sought the Medal of Honor but credited John Lock , a retired Army lieutenant colonel , for making the medal and the White House ceremony possible .
“ He was studying past Medal of Honor recommendations when he came across mine ,” Puckett said of Lock . “ He believed I should have received it and he worked for nearly 20 years to get me upgraded to the Medal of Honor .
“ We became good friends . John Lock . He ’ s a fellow Army Ranger and a Ranger historian . He ’ s written books and taught at West Point . A real brain . He just never gave up on it .”
Puckett even advised Lock to cease his efforts on a few occasions but Lock never did .
“ The man is the quintessential American warrior ,” Lock said of Puckett in an interview with WRBL , a CBS affiliate . “ He goes by the moniker within the Special Operations community as ‘ The Ranger ’ going back to Vietnam .”
Puckett recovered from his war injuries . He married . He and wife Jean had three children . He recovered from his wounds and continued his service in the Army .
He volunteered “ for a combat tour in Vietnam where he served as the commander of the 2nd Battalion , 502nd Infantry Regiment ( Airborne ), 101st Airborne Division . Assigned the moniker , ‘ Ranger ,’ Lt . Col . Puckett would personally lead his Soldiers in combat , appearing when and where they needed him most . For his valor , Lt . Col . Puckett would receive another DSC and two Silver Stars ,” according to his biography on his Medal of Honor website .
He retired and eventually returned to South Georgia , where he lives in Columbus . Not too many miles from where he was born in Tifton nearly a century ago .
GROWING UP
Ralph Puckett Jr . was born Dec . 8 , 1926 in Tifton .
He was the second child of Ralph Puckett Sr . and Clara Stedman Puckett . Ralph was a middle child . Sister Clara Puckett Winston was about a
26 TiftonScene | SEPTEMBER 2022