From Yahoo News:
President Biden on Friday awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration, to Ralph Puckett Jr., a 94-year-old Korean War veteran and retired Army colonel who was wounded in a battle against Chinese soldiers in Korea more than 70 years ago.
Mr. Puckett was a genuine hero.
In November 1950, Puckett, then a first lieutenant in the Eighth U.S. Army Ranger Company, led more than 50 fellow Rangers on a mission to capture and defend a hill from a Chinese assault. He intentionally ran across an exposed area multiple times to draw enemy fire away from his soldiers.
During the siege, he was wounded by a hand grenade and two rounds of mortar fire but refused evacuation, moving from foxhole to foxhole, directing artillery support and inspiring his fellow soldiers to fight.
CNN fleshes out the story a bit more…
It was estimated that hundreds of Chinese troops were involved in the attack against Puckett's group of five dozen, he said a video recorded for Witness to War, a compilation of oral histories from veterans.
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Despite being wounded a second time, through five assaults Puckett was able to call on artillery, firing on points he determined in advance to hold off the Chinese troops.
After six separate attacks, and wounded three times,, Lieutenant Puckett ordered his fellow Rangers to get the hell out of the area. In his own words, “We[were] crumbling. We're being overrun. I just gave my unit the order to withdraw.”
Two of them, PFC Billy G. Walls and PFC David Pollack, disregarded his order. Over his protests, Walls threw Puckett over his shoulder while Pollack provided cover fire, and they physically dragged him down the hill.
Puckett earned two Distinguished Service Crosses for his actions on what was then known as Hill 205. He had a 22-year career in the Army, later serving in the Vietnam War, during which he also saw combat, before retiring from active duty in 1971. He earned five Purple Hearts for injuries suffered in combat.
A retired officer and researcher at the US Military Academy named John Lock reviewed Puckett’s actions and believing his story to be deserving, pushed hard for years for Puckett to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Puckett himself did not support Lock’s effort, but was grateful nonetheless.
President Biden spoke at Puckett’s ceremony, which was attended, for the first time in history, by a foreign leader, South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in.
"Korea is sometimes called the forgotten war, but those men who were there under Lt. Puckett's command will never forget his bravery," Biden said. "They'll never forget that he was right by their side through every minute of it. The people of the Republic of Korea haven't forgotten."
As noted in CNN’s report, over the course of his military career, Puckett received five Purple Hearts.
NBC’s video of the ceremony is below: