His fellow Rangers ignored his order and carried him to safety. Puckett ordered his men to fall back and leave him behind so as not to slow them down. Fearing they were about to be overrun, Lt. In doing so, he was wounded several times and eventually unable to move. Puckett repeatedly left the safety of his foxhole to spot the enemy and direct artillery fire, sometimes ordering shells dropped dangerously close to his own position to keep the Chinese at bay. That evening, he and his 51-man company defended themselves for hours against hundreds of Chinese soldiers who were attacking their position. Ralph Puckett exposed himself to enemy machine guns to enable his Army Rangers to identify their locations. In 1950, during a ferocious battle in Korea then-1st Lt. In our nation’s history, of the 40 million Americans who have served in the military, slightly more than 3,400 – less than 1 percent – have been awarded the Medal of Honor since its inception in 1862. Ralph Puckett, of Columbus, Georgia, the latest recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration given to a member of the armed forces which was presented to him in May by Pres. That would aptly describe 94-year-old retired Col.
A monthly $1,259 pension from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).Recipients of the Medal of Honor are afforded the following benefits for their extraordinary heroism: Also forwards packet to Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff for comment. MANPOWER AND RESERVE AFFAIRSĬoncurs or nonconcurs with Board recommendation CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE ARMYĬoncurs or nonconcurs with Board recommendation SECRETARY OF THE ARMY
Senior Army Decorations Board - Recommends approval, disapproval, or downgrade. OF THE ARMY HUMAN RESOURCES COMMANDĪrmy Decoration Board - Merit Review, can disprove based on criteria (Cdr, HRC can overrule) Submits award recommendation that is outside the two year limit for submission to Department of the Army Human ResourcesĬommand or the Secretary of the Army who forwards request to Human ResourcesĬommand. Submits award recommendation that meets the two year submission time limit to Department of the Army Human Resources The following organizations and individuals play key roles in the Army Medal of Honor recommendation process: CHAIN OF COMMAND The following charts demonstrate this process. Because of the need for accuracy the recommendation process can take in excess of 18 months with intense scrutiny every step of the way. Receiving the Medal of Honor is the highest honor bestowed by the American Military and personally presented by the President of the United States.