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Administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 2021 Remarks on Presenting the Medal of Honor to Army Colonel Ralph Puckett, Jr

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Administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 2021 Remarks on Presenting the Medal of Honor to Army Colonel Ralph Puckett, Jr Administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 2021 Remarks on Presenting the Medal of Honor to Army Colonel Ralph Puckett, Jr., USA (Ret.) May 21, 2021 President Biden. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the White House. President Moon, it's a real honor to have you here participating in this ceremony today. The strength of the alliance between the United States, the Republic of Korea was born out of the courage, determination, sacrifice, and of the Korean troops fighting shoulder to shoulder with American troops. And having you here today is an important recognition of all that our Nation has achieved together—both of them—in the decades since. And I'm joined by my wife Jill, who's as excited about this event as I am; the Vice President and the Second Gentleman are here as well; our Secretary of Defense; Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the officials of the United States Army; as well as several Members of Congress—Representative Ferguson, Representative Crow, and Senator Ernst. Because, today, we are hosting a true American hero and awarding an honor that is long overdue—more than 70 years overdue. Seventy years ago, on a frozen hilltop deep in what is now North Korea, a young First Lieutenant bravely, out of West Point—and barely out of West Point—acted with bravery and—that earned him the Distinguished Service Cross, the military's second highest honor. Today, after more than a decade of effort—including support from my good friend John McCain, God rest his soul, shortly before he passed away—I'm incredibly proud to give Colonel Ralph Puckett's act of valor the full recognition they have always deserved. Colonel, I'm humbled to have you here today, I really am, along with your loving family, and to award you the Medal of Honor. And though I understand that your first response to us hosting this event was to ask, "Why all the fuss?" [Laughter] "Why all the fuss? Can't they just mail it to me?" [Laughter] I was going to make a joke about the Post Office, but I decided not to do that. [Laughter] Colonel Puckett, after 70 years, rather than mail it to you, I would have walked it to you. [Laughter] You know, your lifetime of service to our Nation, I think, deserves a little bit of fuss—a little bit of fuss. You know, when I called to tell the Colonel that I had approved this award, I also spoke to Jeannie. Excuse me for using your first name, but that was my mom's name too. And you and my mom have the same eyes, although you're much—you're too young to be my mom. [Laughter] And they've been married for 68 years. We have something else in—we have one thing in common: We both married way up. [Laughter] We both married way up. Col. Puckett. [Inaudible] President Biden. That's exactly right. [Laughter] Well, Jeannie and Ralph actually met while he was recovering from his wounds. And they were married 2 years to the day after the battle that we're recognizing him today for his bravery. By the way, you all can sit down, I think. [Laughter] It just dawned on me, you all— [laughter]. I understand why you're standing. I'd be standing too, but—Jeannie, it's wonderful to welcome you, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Jill and I know firsthand that it's not 1 just the person who wears the uniform who serves, military families make enormous sacrifices for our Nation. So let me add our thanks to you and your life of service as well. I told you earlier that expression by the poet, "They also stand who only—they also serve who only stand and wait." And you waited a long, long time under many, many, many circumstances. And that goes to the entire family: Marty and her husband Anthony. Thomas and partner Chip—I don't know if they're here; I didn't see them yet. And I know the other daughter—that Jeannie isn't with us anymore. Just like I wish our son Beau were able to be here to see this, he's not with us either. She's here in spirit and represented by her family. And I know she's always in your heart, Colonel, and never leaves. I also want recognize Master Sergeant Merle Simpson who fought beside the colonel in Korea. Where are you? Stand up, sir. Come on. Who made the trip to Washington today to represent all of their fallen brothers from the Eighth Army Ranger Company. It's an honor—it's an honor—for all of their memories as well. Hill 205 was just 60 miles from the border with China. And then-Lieutenant Puckett and the Rangers had their orders to take that hill. As a young officer, Lieutenant Puckett knew that something wasn't quite right. The intelligence briefing indicated that there were 25,000 Chinese troops in the area, outnumbering U.S. and Korean forces two to three—or excuse me, three to two. And Lieutenant Puckett, though the numbers—thought the numbers for the attack didn't align with the basic military doctrine. The Lieutenant believed in the fundamentals. It was how he trained his men. It's how he'd hand-picked them, chosen them from the ranks of cooks and clerks and mechanics to the first Ranger company since World War II. Physical conditioning. Tactical training. Working as a team. Get the basics right, then build from there. But Lieutenant Puckett also believed in being there for the fight. He'd volunteered for the Army Air Corps Enlisted Reserve to try to join—to fight in World War II. He volunteered to go to Korea, instead of the safer posting in Japan. He volunteered for the new Ranger company, and then he prayed, "Dear God, don't let me get a bunch of guys—good guys—killed," when he was chosen to command that company. So, on the morning of November 25, 1950, mounted on the decks of the tanks, 51 of Puckett's Rangers and 9 Korean enlisted soldiers set out to take Hill 205. To make their charge, they had to cross about half mile of frozen rice paddies under fire. And when the enemy machine gunners slowed the Rangers' advance, Puckett risked his life by running across the area to draw fire that would reveal where the location of the nest. He did it once. He did it again. It took three runs intentionally exposing himself to the enemy to pick off the gunner. Of course, Colonel Puckett had developed a dangerous hobby, as he recounted in his book, of challenging himself to run in front of speeding cars when he was 4 years old. [Laughter] So self-preservation, it seemed, was never a primary concern of the colonel. When the Rangers finally reached the top of Hill 205, they found it abandoned, but Puckett knew the fight wasn't nearly over. His men established a defensive perimeter and then went to coordinate the artillery support he was sure they would need, and while he was there, to load up the ammunition and grenades, the basics. Shortly after he returned, the first onslaught began. Mortars followed by a ground assault from the entire Chinese battalion. Puckett's Rangers were outnumbered almost ten to one. During the fight, Puckett abandoned the relative safety of his foxhole, moving from man to man, encouraging them in the fight, checking that the perimeter was holding. 2 He took a grenade fragment in his left thigh, but Puckett refused to be evacuated. He was a Ranger. He led his men from the front. And over the course of the next several hours, four more waves of assaults came. Each time, Puckett made his rounds, passing out extra ammo and extra encouragement to rally his men. Each time, he was able to call in artillery support—sometimes "danger close"—to help break the advance of the Chinese soldiers. Each time, the Rangers held the hill, pushing the enemy back, at times, with hand-to-hand fighting. About 2:30 a.m., after more than 4 hours of near nonstop fighting, the sixth wave began. By this time, the Rangers had—many Rangers had been killed, and those who are left were exhausted, outnumbered, and dangerously short of ammunition and grenades. Lieutenant Puckett had sustained a second wound, this time in his left shoulder. He had distributed all the ammo to his men, keeping only eight bullets and a bayonet for himself. For the last time, Puckett called in artillery support, only to be told that the guns were supporting other besieged units. Then, two mortar rounds landed directly in Puckett's foxhole, tearing through both his feet and his backside and his left arm and shoulder. Puckett's Rangers had been overwhelmed, and he himself was badly wounded. He ordered one of his men who found him on the ground to leave him behind. But that's not the Ranger creed. A private ran for help, and soon two other Rangers charged back up the hill, fighting off advancing Chinese soldiers, retrieving their commander. They had to drag him down the hill, with Lieutenant Puckett reminding them, and himself, that he could take the pain, quote, "I'm a Ranger." Before his men loaded him on a tank to evacuate, Lieutenant Puckett called for one final barrage on Hill 205.
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