President Joe Biden awarded his first Medal of Honor on Friday to a 94-year-old retired Army colonel for bravery under enemy fire more than a half-century ago in the Korean War.
It took a policy change for retired Col. Ralph Puckett Jr. to receive the military’s highest honor. The 2020 defense policy bill removed a requirement that such awards be given within five years of a valorous act.
“Today we are hosting a true American hero and awarding an honor that is long overdue — more than 70 years overdue,” Biden said during the East Room ceremony. “Though I understand that your first response to us hosting this event was to ask why all the fuss.”
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