COL (R) Ralph Puckett ’49 received the Distinguished Service Cross 70 years ago for his actions in Korea and that award is being upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
Colonel Puckett was a young lieutenant when he led 51 Rangers and nine Korean soldiers across 800 yards of frozen rice paddies to seize and hold a key hill overlooking the Chongchon River in what is now North Korea. They lost four Rangers and one Korean in the assault, but another battle was still to come. During the night that followed, Puckett’s Rangers faced hundreds of Chinese forces counterattacking the hill. He would be wounded three times before ordering his men to leave him behind and retreat — a command they disobeyed. Read more.