A highly decorated U.S. veteran of the 1950-53 Korean War lied in honor at the Capitol in Washington on Monday, as U.S. lawmakers, military officials and others gathered to pay tribute to the hero.Retired Col. Ralph Puckett Jr., the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from the war, passed away at his home in Columbus, Georgia, at the age of 97 on April 8. He is noted for his command of the Eighth Army Ranger Company in a fierce fight to secure Hill 205, a strategically crucial point, against Chinese attacks in November 1950.His remains were placed in the rotunda of the Capitol during a ceremony where his bereaved family and other participants honored his gallantry and intrepidity shown during the Korean War, the first major armed conflict of the Cold War.
House Speaker Mike Johnson called attention to Puckett’s simple yet impactful motto: “Be there” when the going gets tough.”On that cold day in November 1950, Col. Puckett was there for his men and his country,” Johnson said in his address during the ceremony.”Today, America gets to show our things to the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from the Korean War. And we all get a chance to be there for the colonel and his family, honoring his life and sacrifice in these hallowed halls of American democracy,” he added.In 2021, Puckett belatedly received the Medal of Honor, the U.S. armed forces’ highest military decoration, for his service during the Korean War. He is also a veteran of the Vietnam War.Last April, Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol awarded the Taegeuk Order of Military Merit, the country’s highest military order, to Puckett and two other Korean War veterans.Puckett’s remains will reportedly be interred at the Parkhill Cemetery in 카지노사이트킹 Columbus