Biden awards Korean war veteran Medal of Honor

U.S. President Joe Biden awarded the Medal of Honor to Korean war veteran, retired Colonel Ralph Puckett Jr., on Friday, in a ceremony attended by South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Ninety-four-year-old Puckett Jr. was given the award for “conspicuous gallantry“ for his conduct during the war, which lasted from June 1950 to July 1953. Most notable, Puckett Jr. was a 24-year-old First Lieutenant in November 1950, when he led the men of the 8th U.S. Army Ranger Company in a daylight attack on Hill 205, according a White House statement. When his platoon was pinned down by enemy fire, he “intentionally ran across an open area three times to draw enemy fire,“ giving the Rangers time to locate and destroy enemy positions and seize Hill 205.