So, in the fall of 1942, at a time when he was supposed to be an 11 th grader in a state that did not then offer 12 th grade, he enrolled as a senior, or 12 th grader, at Baylor. The dean also suggested how he could get the needed math classes – by attending a college military preparatory school in Chattanooga named Baylor as a boarding student. realized after finishing the 10 th grade that he needed some more math classes not offered at Tifton High to get into the Tech engineering program. When his son, Ralph Puckett Jr., made plans to go to college after thinking he had received a good education at Tifton High School, he wanted to study aeronautical engineering and pursue his military flying-related plans, perhaps as an airplane designer and flight tester.īut through a conversation his father had with a dean and former classmate at Georgia Tech, Ralph Jr. It would be a trait passed along to his son. He apparently did that through his glare, physical presence, and respect alone.
He was also a respected citizen, and once after being asked for help by some black men in town, went to a jail and prevented some whites from breaking into it and possibly lynching a black man. His father after college had run a wholesale grocery firm and a corn-shelling business. But his family also focused on getting a college education at that time when fewer people went to college, and he dreamed of going to Georgia Tech, where his father, Ralph Puckett Sr., had been a standout baseball and football player. He said that as a schoolboy, he had dreamy visions of being in the Army Air Corps, and he even took civilian flying lessons, a hobby also noted in his Baylor yearbook writeup. When it arrived a few days later, I glanced through the first few pages and, much to my satisfaction, he outlines for a page or two information about how he ended up at Baylor and what the experience was like. Hoping it might provide a little insight into how he ended up at Baylor from South Georgia, I ordered the University of Kentucky Press book. Crosswell a memoir called “Ranger: A Soldier’s Life.” I started looking online and happened to notice that he had written in 2017 with D.K.R. I was disappointed, but in the spirit of a good American military man, I tried to persist. She said that he was unfortunately no longer able to do interviews, apparently due to his age. I intended to write a story about it in connection with Veterans Day this year, but after locating a phone number for him down in Columbus, Ga., with the help of Baylor, I talked with his wife on the phone. The yearbook writeup later passed along to me by Baylor also called him a “neat” cadet in the military program.Īfter reading the brief magazine article, I thought it might be interesting to try and interview him and get him to recall his memories of attending Baylor and what it was like to receive the Medal of Honor. That included being involved with the boxing and baseball teams and serving as a member of the Victory Corps, a national World War II participation effort for high school students that in Baylor’s case meant having a farm with animals and a garden on the school’s lower fields.
The magazine story talks about the White House ceremony for the then-94-year-old (who is now 95), and it mentions some information on his activities while attending Baylor from 1942-43.
#THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY ONLINE FREE FOR FREE#
I was privy to the printed magazine as a 1978 alumnus, although it can be accessed by anyone for free online. To my knowledge, his Baylor connection was not covered in the local media, unless I overlooked it, and I only learned of it after reading the Summer 2021 edition of the Baylor magazine published for alumni and friends. Puckett had attended Baylor School way back in the early 1940s. Ralph Puckett, for his courageous actions in the Korean War many years ago.Īlthough that event was highlighted in the national news on May 21, just as the one on Thursday was for the other three, his story had one other chapter that has been minimally highlighted: Col.
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