They were outnumbered 10 to one.

In the battle for Hill 205 during the Korean War, Army 1st Lt. Ralph Puckett Jr. repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to check on his men and rally them. He was repeatedly wounded but refused to leave his men. Hurt so bad he was unable to move.

Despite ordering his men to leave him behind, they fought their way to his side and carried him off the field of battle.

Nearly 71 years later, retired Col. Ralph Puckett received the Medal of Honor for the actions he took that day.

Seventy-two years later, the 95-year-old Tifton native was honored in the town where he was born and raised. Tifton welcomed Puckett home last week with a celebration to rename Victory Drive in his honor.

Family, military personnel and city officials paid tribute to Puckett. 

As he recovered from his injuries in the early 1950s, Puckett was told he had been recommended to receive the Medal of Honor. But the recommendation was withdrawn and he was instead awarded the prestigious Distinguished Service Cross.

In an interview with The Tifton Gazette last year, Puckett said he never sought the Medal of Honor but credited John Lock, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, for making the medal and the White House ceremony possible.

“He was studying past Medal of Honor recommendations when he came across mine,” Puckett said of Lock. “He believed I should have received it and he worked for nearly 20 years to get me upgraded to the Medal of Honor.”

“The man is the quintessential American warrior,” Lock said of Puckett in an interview with WRBL, a CBS affiliate. “He goes by the moniker within the Special Operations community as ‘The Ranger’ going back to Vietnam.”

Puckett recovered from his war injuries. He married. He and wife Jean had three children. He recovered from his wounds and continued his service in the Army. 

He volunteered “for a combat tour in Vietnam where he served as the commander of the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 101st Airborne Division. Assigned the moniker, ‘Ranger,’ Lt. Col. Puckett would personally lead his Soldiers in combat, appearing when and where they needed him most. For his valor, Lt. Col. Puckett would receive another DSC and two Silver Stars,” according to his biography on his Medal of Honor website.

He retired and eventually returned to South Georgia, where he lives in Columbus. Not too many miles from where he was born in Tifton nearly a century ago.

We applaud city officials for honoring Col. Puckett.

And we salute Col. Ralph Puckett for his service, his grit and his courage.