Col. Ralph Puckett’s celebration of life ceremony to be televised on Saturday morning

Chuck Williams
·2 min read
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COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — Today, Columbus, Fort Moore and the U.S. Army Ranger community is saying farewell to a legendary soldier.

Col. Ralph Puckett – who passed away on April 8 — will be honored in a celebration of his remarkable life at the National Infantry Museum.

One group honored Col. Puckett at Zero Dark Thirty yesterday morning on post at Fort Moore with a special PT program.

Col. Puckett, a Ranger’s Ranger, received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on Hill 205 in Korea back in November 1950.

The PT event for Ranger Regiment and the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade simulated the physical stresses that Rangers would have endured on “Hill 205” more than seven decades ago.

A steep grade near the Lawson Army Airfield – known affectionately as Cardiac Hill – was the backdrop.

The workout was almost 90 minutes and involved buddy carries, trail running, hill sprints, crawling, and just Rangering.

But like Col. Puckett’s life, there was a lesson in the physical push. Puckett’s 8th Army soldiers disobeyed his order to leave him wounded and distressed during a Chinese counterassault that day. They pulled him to safety.

Here’s how 1st Sgt. Tyler Fillion of the 75th Ranger Regiment’s ‘Ranger Selection Company’ termed it.

“He lived to 97 because he never stopped giving. He never stopped letting things be meaningful. He never stopped trying to make a contribution to the people around him,” said Fallion. “And he was worth going back up that hill, even though he told his guys, ‘Hey, leave me.’ He was worth going to get. So, I hope that all of us use that as an example and say, Hey, am I worth going up there to get? And if I’m not? Why are the reasons why I’m not? And we and we recalibrate ourselves.’”

In a fitting tribute, they played pearls of wisdom from Col. Puckett over a loudspeaker as those Rangers attacked Cardiac Hill.

Col. Puckett’s Celebration of Life starts at 11 a.m. Saturday morning at the National Infantry Museum. You can watch it live on WRBL. You can also see it livestreaming right here on our website.

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