Woodrow W. Keeble
Encyclopedia
Master Sergeant Woodrow Wilson Keeble (May 16, 1917 - January 28, 1982) was a U.S. Army National Guard
veteran of both World War II
and the Korean War
. He was a full-blooded member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate
of the Lake Traverse Reservation, a Sioux
Native American tribe.
Following a long campaign by his family and the congressional delegations of both North
and South Dakota
, on March 3, 2008, President George W. Bush
posthumously awarded Keeble the Medal of Honor
for his actions in the Korean War. Keeble had previously been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
, the Silver Star
, the Bronze Star
with V device for Valor, the Bronze Star for merit, and the Combat Infantryman Badge
(first and second awards). Although he was wounded at least twice in World War II and three times in Korea, he received only two Purple Heart
s.
to Isaac and Nancy (Shaker) Keeble on May 16, 1917. While still very young, he moved to Wahpeton
, North Dakota
, where his mother worked at the Wahpeton Indian School (now called Circle of Nations School). Unfortunately, Nancy died when Keeble was still a child. Keeble's father, who was too impoverished to feed his family, permanently enrolled Woodrow and his siblings in the school.
Woodrow excelled in athletics, especially baseball, and pitched the Wahpeton amateur team to ten straight victories. He was being recruited by the Chicago White Sox
when his Army National Guard
unit was called up to serve in World War II.
164th Infantry Regiment
. After initial training in Louisiana
, the regiment carried out various orders in several West Coast locations before being deployed to Australia
in preparation for operations in the Pacific Theater
. Keeble's unit was assigned to the Americal Division
.
The 164th landed on Guadalcanal
on October 13, 1942 to help the battered First Marine Division, which had suffered heavy losses while clearing the South Pacific island of Japanese. The 164th provided the first replacements for the 1st Marines, and although the new boys were green, the exhausted men heartily welcomed the North Dakotans—and their supplies.
Keeble's regiment of Dakotans was the first United States Army unit to conduct an offensive operation against the enemy in any theater.
Largely because of transport constraints, the Americal Division arrived on Guadalcanal piecemeal, and was fed into combat alongside the battle-hardened Marines. Thus, in contrast to how several US Army divisions were deployed in the Pacific War
, the soldiers of the 164th Infantry were able to learn the practical art of jungle warfare against the Japanese without suffering as many casualties as might otherwise have occurred.
The battles on Guadalcanal were some of the most brutal of the war. Japanese troops adopted the Banzai charge
, wildly attacking in human waves. Sometimes the hand-to-hand battles would last all through the night.
During these battles, Keeble's reputation for bravery and skill grew. Nearly a head taller than most of his fellow soldiers, he was an expert with the Browning Automatic Rifle
(BAR). His other great weapon was his pitching arm, which he used to hurl hand grenades with deadly accuracy. James Fenelon, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota who fought with Keeble on Guadalcanal, once remarked, “The safest place to be was right next to Woody.”
Despite its ad-hoc formation, the Americal Division fought well at Guadalcanal, the 164th taking on a key role in the defeat of a major Japanese offensive in October 1942. Uniquely, the North Dakotans performed so heroically on Guadalcanal in support of the Marines that they received a Navy Presidential Unit Citation.
After the battles on Guadalcanal, Keeble and the rest of the regiment participated in combat campaigns on the islands of Bougainville
, Leyte
, Cebu
, and Mindanao
. Following the Japanese surrender, the entire Americal Division landed in Japan
and took part in the occupation of the Yokohama
region.
After the war, Keeble returned to Wahpeton and worked at the Wahpeton Indian School. On November 14, 1947, Woodrow Wilson Keeble married Nettie Abigail Owen-Robertson (b. March 30, 1917).
He also wrote:
Keeble continued:
, Alabama
. When Keeble's commanding officer, Lt E. Duane Holly, had to select several sergeants for deployment to the front lines, he decided to have his men draw straws. Keeble volunteered instead. Asked why, Keeble said, “Somebody has to teach these kids how to fight.”
Keeble was assigned to George Company, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment
, 24th Infantry Division. His combat experience and a genuine gift of leadership brought him a quick series of promotions to the level of master sergeant, leading the 1st Platoon.
The summer and fall of 1951 were particularly deadly for both sides as the war moved into its second year. The 24th Division was in the central area of the Korean peninsula when, on October 13, 1951, the Division was called upon to take a series of steep mountains protecting a major Chinese supply depot in the town of Kumsong.
This push, Operation Nomad-Polar, was to be the last major United Nations
offensive of the war.
Keeble, described as a gentle giant by his friends, was a ferocious warrior in battle, as evidenced by his heroic actions over the next six days. Official records confirm Keeble was initially wounded on October 15, and then again on October 17, 18 and 20 - for which he received only one Purple Heart. For his bravery on the 18th, he was awarded a Silver Star. His heroism on the 20th made Keeble a legend - and 57 years later resulted in his posthumous Medal of Honor.
George Company was in its sixth day of round-the-clock fighting. They were facing deeply entrenched Chinese soldiers on Hill 675-770, the last major Chinese stronghold between the UN forces and Kumsong. Keeble had thus far suffered two rifle wounds to his left arm, a grenade to his face that almost removed his nose and a badly twisted knee; on the 19th, doctors reportedly removed 83 pieces of festering shrapnel Keeble had sustained from a concussion grenade the previous day. On the 20th, Medic Dale Selby told Keeble he should stay back because of his wounds, but Keeble refused to let his men go up the mountain without him. That day, Master Sergeant Keeble single-handedly destroyed three enemy machine-gun bunker
s and killed an additional seven enemy soldiers in nearby trenches.
His bravery in the face of enemy fire was so remarkable that a recommendation that he receive the Medal of Honor was twice submitted. In both cases, the recommendation was lost. When Keeble's men endeavored to submit the recommendation a third time, officials informed them they were too late; they were told regulations prevented them from submitting another recommendation.
, which required that he undergo long-term treatment in Minneapolis, Minnesota
. Surgeons ultimately removed one of his lungs, which triggered a series of strokes that rendered him speechless, partially paralyzed and unable to work for the remainder of his life. Nettie, his wife of 14 years, died the following year, leaving Keeble to raise their young son, Earl, alone.
Keeble fell on hard times and is said to have pawned his medals. Nevertheless, and despite his disabilities, Keeble persevered. In 1967, he married Blossom Iris Crawford-Hawkins (b. July 18, 1926), the first Sioux woman to complete a Doctorate of Education, (including doctoral dissertation).
Woodrow Keeble was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars
(VFW) Post 4324 - Wahpeton
, ND.
Woodrow W. Keeble died January 28, 1982, and is buried in Sisseton, South Dakota. On May 17, 2008, his tombstone was replaced with a Medal of Honor headstone.
(D-N.D.), Kent Conrad
(D-N.D.) John Thune
(R-S.D.) and Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) long urged that Keeble be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Senator Conrad and North Dakota Adjutant General Michael Haugen presented Keeble's family with a duplicate set of his medals on May 30, 2006, at the Wahpeton Armory. Moments before the event was to begin, word came that Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey
was recommending Keeble's Distinguished Service Cross be upgraded to the Medal of Honor. From there, Keeble's case moved up to the level of Secretary of Defense.
In 2007, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
, notified the four Dakota Senators that a statute of limitations would prevent the Medal of Honor to be granted. The four Dakota Senators immediately drafted legislation to remove the last barrier to the posthumous awarding of the honor.
In May 2007, the congressional funding bill for Iraq included language to grant a waiver of the statute of limitations for awarding a Medal of Honor to Woodrow W. Keeble, enabling the President to sign off on the recommendation, dependent on the Secretary of Defense's recommendation for the upgrade. President Bush signed the legislation on May 24, 2007.
Senator Thune issued a statement on June 2 that read, in part,
Senator Johnson urged Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates to act quickly on the recommendation. “... it is my hope that both you and the President can move forward on Master Sergeant Keeble’s case as expeditiously as possible,” Johnson said in a letter to Gates quoted in the Argus Leader
of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
.
It would be another year before the President would finally award the Medal of Honor to Keeble. Despite failing health, Blossom Keeble was determined to live long enough to accept the Medal of Honor on her husband's behalf. Unfortunately, she died quite suddenly on June 3, 2007 before the honor became a reality.
In February 2008, the White House announced that Keeble would receive the Medal of Honor posthumously in a ceremony scheduled for March 3. "We are just proud to be a part of this for Woody," Keeble's stepson Russell Hawkins said in a U.S. Army announcement. "He is deserving of this, for what he did in the Armed Services in defense of this country."
Hawkins added that this victory is as important for the Sisseton-Wahpeton tribe and North and South Dakota as it is for Keeble and his family. "We are all extremely proud that Woody is finally receiving this honor. He epitomized our cultural values of humility, compassion, bravery, strength and honor."
Hawkins added that Keeble was the embodiment of woyuonihan ("honor"), always carrying himself in a way so that those who knew him would be proud of him. "He lived a life full of honor and respect."
Hawkins said his feelings about Keeble echo those of all who knew him. "If he was alive today, I would tell him there's no one I respect more, and how he is everything a man should be: brave, kind and generous. I would tell him how proud I am of him, and how I never realized that all this time, I was living with such greatness."
Master Sergeant Woodrow W. Keeble
United States Army
Citation:
, before a joint session of the State Congress, officially proclaimed the date to be forever commemorated as Woodrow Wilson Keeble Day in the state of South Dakota.
On July 23, 2008, North Dakota Governor John Hoeven
posthumously presented Keeble with the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, The award recognizes present or former North Dakotans who achieve national recognition in their fields of endeavor.
In addition to these awards, numerous regional sites also pay homage to the memory of Woodrow Keeble. A section of U.S. Highway 12 near Keeble's birthplace in Waubay, South Dakota, is named in his honor. A special shelter in Chahinkapa Park in Wahpeton was built in his honor. Previous to the Medal of Honor ceremony, the gymnasium at the Wahpeton Indian School, now called the Circle of Nations School, was named for him. In May 2008, the school celebrated its 100th anniversary and named a new dormitory for Keeble. The State of North Dakota erected a Medal of Honor Memorial in Roosevelt Park in Minot. North Dakota has more Medal of Honor recipients, per capita, than any other state. A separate pillar was built for Woodrow Keeble. It was dedicated during a special celebration on July 4, 2008. A new Armed Forces Reserve Center in Sioux Falls has also been named for Keeble.
Army National Guard
Established under Title 10 and Title 32 of the U.S. Code, the Army National Guard is part of the National Guard and is divided up into subordinate units stationed in each of the 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia operating under their respective governors...
veteran of both World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. He was a full-blooded member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate
Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate
The Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, formerly Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe/Dakota Nation, is a federally recognized tribe comprising two bands and two sub-divisions of the Isanti or Santee Dakota people...
of the Lake Traverse Reservation, a Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
Native American tribe.
Following a long campaign by his family and the congressional delegations of both North
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
and South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, on March 3, 2008, President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
posthumously awarded Keeble the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
for his actions in the Korean War. Keeble had previously been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
, the Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
, the Bronze Star
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
with V device for Valor, the Bronze Star for merit, and the Combat Infantryman Badge
Combat Infantryman Badge
The Combat Infantryman Badge is the U.S. Army combat service recognition decoration awarded to soldiers—enlisted men and officers holding colonel rank or below, who personally fought in active ground combat while an assigned member of either an infantry or a Special Forces unit, of brigade size...
(first and second awards). Although he was wounded at least twice in World War II and three times in Korea, he received only two Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
s.
Early life
Woodrow Keeble was born in Waubay, South DakotaSouth Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
to Isaac and Nancy (Shaker) Keeble on May 16, 1917. While still very young, he moved to Wahpeton
Wahpeton, North Dakota
The first European explorer in the area was Jonathan Carver in 1767. He explored and mapped the Northwest at the request of Major Robert Rogers, commander of Fort Michilimackinac, the British fort at Mackinaw City, Michigan, which protected the passage between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron...
, North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, where his mother worked at the Wahpeton Indian School (now called Circle of Nations School). Unfortunately, Nancy died when Keeble was still a child. Keeble's father, who was too impoverished to feed his family, permanently enrolled Woodrow and his siblings in the school.
Woodrow excelled in athletics, especially baseball, and pitched the Wahpeton amateur team to ten straight victories. He was being recruited by the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
when his Army National Guard
Army National Guard
Established under Title 10 and Title 32 of the U.S. Code, the Army National Guard is part of the National Guard and is divided up into subordinate units stationed in each of the 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia operating under their respective governors...
unit was called up to serve in World War II.
World War II
In World War II, Keeble served with I Company of the famed North DakotaNorth Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
164th Infantry Regiment
164th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 164th Infantry Regiment, an activated regiment of the North Dakota National Guard, was the first United States Army unit on Guadalcanal.-World War I and interwar years:...
. After initial training in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, the regiment carried out various orders in several West Coast locations before being deployed to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in preparation for operations in the Pacific Theater
Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
The Pacific Ocean theatre was one of four major naval theatres of war of World War II, which pitted the forces of Japan against those of the United States, the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands and France....
. Keeble's unit was assigned to the Americal Division
Americal Division
The 23rd Infantry Division, more commonly known as the Americal Division of the United States Army was formed in May 1942 on the island of New Caledonia. In the immediate emergency following Pearl Harbor, the United States had hurriedly sent three individual regiments to defend New Caledonia...
.
The 164th landed on Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
on October 13, 1942 to help the battered First Marine Division, which had suffered heavy losses while clearing the South Pacific island of Japanese. The 164th provided the first replacements for the 1st Marines, and although the new boys were green, the exhausted men heartily welcomed the North Dakotans—and their supplies.
Keeble's regiment of Dakotans was the first United States Army unit to conduct an offensive operation against the enemy in any theater.
Largely because of transport constraints, the Americal Division arrived on Guadalcanal piecemeal, and was fed into combat alongside the battle-hardened Marines. Thus, in contrast to how several US Army divisions were deployed in the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
, the soldiers of the 164th Infantry were able to learn the practical art of jungle warfare against the Japanese without suffering as many casualties as might otherwise have occurred.
Banzai charge
Banzai charge was a term applied during World War II by the Allied forces to human wave attacks mounted by infantry forces of the Imperial Japanese Army...
, wildly attacking in human waves. Sometimes the hand-to-hand battles would last all through the night.
During these battles, Keeble's reputation for bravery and skill grew. Nearly a head taller than most of his fellow soldiers, he was an expert with the Browning Automatic Rifle
Browning Automatic Rifle
The Browning Automatic Rifle was a family of United States automatic rifles and light machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century. The primary variant of the BAR series was the M1918, chambered for the .30-06 Springfield rifle cartridge and designed...
(BAR). His other great weapon was his pitching arm, which he used to hurl hand grenades with deadly accuracy. James Fenelon, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota who fought with Keeble on Guadalcanal, once remarked, “The safest place to be was right next to Woody.”
Despite its ad-hoc formation, the Americal Division fought well at Guadalcanal, the 164th taking on a key role in the defeat of a major Japanese offensive in October 1942. Uniquely, the North Dakotans performed so heroically on Guadalcanal in support of the Marines that they received a Navy Presidential Unit Citation.
After the battles on Guadalcanal, Keeble and the rest of the regiment participated in combat campaigns on the islands of Bougainville
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
, Leyte
Leyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
, Cebu
Cebu
Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...
, and Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
. Following the Japanese surrender, the entire Americal Division landed in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and took part in the occupation of the Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
region.
After the war, Keeble returned to Wahpeton and worked at the Wahpeton Indian School. On November 14, 1947, Woodrow Wilson Keeble married Nettie Abigail Owen-Robertson (b. March 30, 1917).
Woodrow Keeble on combat
Examining the experience of being in combat for the first time, Keeble explained,Before I experienced the horror of that attack, I was quick to call coward or yellow anyone who showed fear under any circumstances. Nevermore. I don’t know these things, but they speak truth to one. I am not a psychologist, nor a statistician, and less of a philosopher; but the depth of emotion, the dreads of fear, the referees of horrors, and the concentration of self that led me to make this observation, the fear impulse, or perhaps, better said, the (impulses caused) by fear, are stronger, more demanding than either that of love or hunger...
He also wrote:
Fear in my opinion is a state of drunkenness. And when men are in that state when the fear impulse takes a hold...he loses all reason, sense of values, and is not liable, or at least should not be held accountable for acts perpetrated when thus possessed.
Keeble continued:
During the 13 months (in the) almost continual and sustained combat in which I have ever participated, there were moments, and rare ones, I am sure; but they lose none of their terror or horror for which fear laid a relentless and a powerful hold on me, that the pull of cowardice was almost more than I could ward off. There were terrible moments that encompassed a lifetime, an endlessness, when terror was so strong in me, that I could feel idiocy replace reason. (Yet,) I have never left my position, nor have I shirked hazardous duty. Fear did not make a coward out of me.
Korean War
The 164th Infantry Regiment was reactivated in 1951 during the Korean War; they trained at Camp RuckerFort Rucker
Fort Rucker is a U.S. Army post located mostly in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was named for a Civil War officer, Confederate General Edmund Rucker. The post is the primary flight training base for Army Aviation and is home to the United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence and...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. When Keeble's commanding officer, Lt E. Duane Holly, had to select several sergeants for deployment to the front lines, he decided to have his men draw straws. Keeble volunteered instead. Asked why, Keeble said, “Somebody has to teach these kids how to fight.”
19th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 19th Infantry Regiment is a United States Army infantry regiment which is assigned to the US Army Training and Doctrine Command, with the assignment of conducting Basic and Advanced Infantry Training.-Civil War:...
, 24th Infantry Division. His combat experience and a genuine gift of leadership brought him a quick series of promotions to the level of master sergeant, leading the 1st Platoon.
The summer and fall of 1951 were particularly deadly for both sides as the war moved into its second year. The 24th Division was in the central area of the Korean peninsula when, on October 13, 1951, the Division was called upon to take a series of steep mountains protecting a major Chinese supply depot in the town of Kumsong.
This push, Operation Nomad-Polar, was to be the last major United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
offensive of the war.
Keeble, described as a gentle giant by his friends, was a ferocious warrior in battle, as evidenced by his heroic actions over the next six days. Official records confirm Keeble was initially wounded on October 15, and then again on October 17, 18 and 20 - for which he received only one Purple Heart. For his bravery on the 18th, he was awarded a Silver Star. His heroism on the 20th made Keeble a legend - and 57 years later resulted in his posthumous Medal of Honor.
George Company was in its sixth day of round-the-clock fighting. They were facing deeply entrenched Chinese soldiers on Hill 675-770, the last major Chinese stronghold between the UN forces and Kumsong. Keeble had thus far suffered two rifle wounds to his left arm, a grenade to his face that almost removed his nose and a badly twisted knee; on the 19th, doctors reportedly removed 83 pieces of festering shrapnel Keeble had sustained from a concussion grenade the previous day. On the 20th, Medic Dale Selby told Keeble he should stay back because of his wounds, but Keeble refused to let his men go up the mountain without him. That day, Master Sergeant Keeble single-handedly destroyed three enemy machine-gun bunker
Bunker
A military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...
s and killed an additional seven enemy soldiers in nearby trenches.
His bravery in the face of enemy fire was so remarkable that a recommendation that he receive the Medal of Honor was twice submitted. In both cases, the recommendation was lost. When Keeble's men endeavored to submit the recommendation a third time, officials informed them they were too late; they were told regulations prevented them from submitting another recommendation.
Later life
Master Sergeant Keeble returned to North Dakota after the Korean War and again worked at the Wahpeton Indian School. Soon after, he was afflicted with tuberculosisTuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, which required that he undergo long-term treatment in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. Surgeons ultimately removed one of his lungs, which triggered a series of strokes that rendered him speechless, partially paralyzed and unable to work for the remainder of his life. Nettie, his wife of 14 years, died the following year, leaving Keeble to raise their young son, Earl, alone.
Keeble fell on hard times and is said to have pawned his medals. Nevertheless, and despite his disabilities, Keeble persevered. In 1967, he married Blossom Iris Crawford-Hawkins (b. July 18, 1926), the first Sioux woman to complete a Doctorate of Education, (including doctoral dissertation).
Woodrow Keeble was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars
Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...
(VFW) Post 4324 - Wahpeton
Wahpeton, North Dakota
The first European explorer in the area was Jonathan Carver in 1767. He explored and mapped the Northwest at the request of Major Robert Rogers, commander of Fort Michilimackinac, the British fort at Mackinaw City, Michigan, which protected the passage between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron...
, ND.
Woodrow W. Keeble died January 28, 1982, and is buried in Sisseton, South Dakota. On May 17, 2008, his tombstone was replaced with a Medal of Honor headstone.
Medal of Honor campaign
Keeble's family and friends remained dedicated to efforts to get him the Medal of Honor for which he was twice recommended. United States Senators Byron DorganByron Dorgan
Byron Leslie Dorgan is a former United States Senator from North Dakota and is now a senior policy advisor for a Washington, DC law firm. He is a member of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, the North Dakota affiliate of the Democratic Party. In the Senate, he was Chairman of the Democratic...
(D-N.D.), Kent Conrad
Kent Conrad
Kent Conrad is the senior United States Senator from North Dakota. He is a member of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, the North Dakota affiliate of the Democratic Party...
(D-N.D.) John Thune
John Thune
John Randolph Thune is the junior U.S. Senator from South Dakota and a member of the Republican Party. He previously served as a U.S. Representative for .-Early Life, Education:...
(R-S.D.) and Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) long urged that Keeble be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Senator Conrad and North Dakota Adjutant General Michael Haugen presented Keeble's family with a duplicate set of his medals on May 30, 2006, at the Wahpeton Armory. Moments before the event was to begin, word came that Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey
Francis Harvey
Major Francis John William Harvey, VC was an officer of the British Royal Marine Light Infantry during the First World War. Harvey was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military award for gallantry in the face of the enemy given to British and Commonwealth forces, for his...
was recommending Keeble's Distinguished Service Cross be upgraded to the Medal of Honor. From there, Keeble's case moved up to the level of Secretary of Defense.
In 2007, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
, notified the four Dakota Senators that a statute of limitations would prevent the Medal of Honor to be granted. The four Dakota Senators immediately drafted legislation to remove the last barrier to the posthumous awarding of the honor.
In May 2007, the congressional funding bill for Iraq included language to grant a waiver of the statute of limitations for awarding a Medal of Honor to Woodrow W. Keeble, enabling the President to sign off on the recommendation, dependent on the Secretary of Defense's recommendation for the upgrade. President Bush signed the legislation on May 24, 2007.
Senator Thune issued a statement on June 2 that read, in part,
Master Sergeant Woodrow W. Keeble served with bravery and dignity, going beyond the call of duty not for notoriety or recognition-but for the mission he believed in and the country he loved. Keeble's legacy is a great source of pride for his family, his fellow Dakota Sioux, and all Americans. The Secretary of the Army's recommendation is wonderful and long-awaited news. I began working with Master Sergeant Keeble's family and tribal officials on resolving this long overdue issue in the spring of 2002, and I will continue to work with Defense officials to ensure that this legendary soldier receives the final and most distinguished honor he deserves.
Senator Johnson urged Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates to act quickly on the recommendation. “... it is my hope that both you and the President can move forward on Master Sergeant Keeble’s case as expeditiously as possible,” Johnson said in a letter to Gates quoted in the Argus Leader
Argus Leader
See also List of newspapers in South DakotaThe Argus Leader is the daily newspaper of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is South Dakota's largest newspaper by circulation.-Description:...
of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
.
It would be another year before the President would finally award the Medal of Honor to Keeble. Despite failing health, Blossom Keeble was determined to live long enough to accept the Medal of Honor on her husband's behalf. Unfortunately, she died quite suddenly on June 3, 2007 before the honor became a reality.
Hawkins added that this victory is as important for the Sisseton-Wahpeton tribe and North and South Dakota as it is for Keeble and his family. "We are all extremely proud that Woody is finally receiving this honor. He epitomized our cultural values of humility, compassion, bravery, strength and honor."
Hawkins added that Keeble was the embodiment of woyuonihan ("honor"), always carrying himself in a way so that those who knew him would be proud of him. "He lived a life full of honor and respect."
Hawkins said his feelings about Keeble echo those of all who knew him. "If he was alive today, I would tell him there's no one I respect more, and how he is everything a man should be: brave, kind and generous. I would tell him how proud I am of him, and how I never realized that all this time, I was living with such greatness."
Medal of Honor citation
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 2008, has awarded in the name of Congress the Medal of Honor to:Master Sergeant Woodrow W. Keeble
United States Army
Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:
Master Sergeant Woodrow W. Keeble distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy near Sangsan-ni, Korea, on October 20, 1951. On that day, Master Sergeant Keeble was an acting platoon leader for the support platoon in Company G, 19th Infantry, in the attack on Hill 765, a steep and rugged position that was well defended by the enemy. Leading the support platoon, Master Sergeant Keeble saw that the attacking elements had become pinned down on the slope by heavy enemy fire from three well-fortified and strategically placed enemy positions. With complete disregard for his personal safety, Master Sergeant Keeble dashed forward and joined the pinned-down platoon. Then, hugging the ground, Master Sergeant Keeble crawled forward alone until he was in close proximity to one of the hostile machine-gun emplacements. Ignoring the heavy fire that the crew trained on him, Master Sergeant Keeble activated a grenade and threw it with great accuracy, successfully destroying the position. Continuing his one-man assault, he moved to the second enemy position and destroyed it with another grenade. Despite the fact that the enemy troops were now directing their firepower against him and unleashing a shower of grenades in a frantic attempt to stop his advance, he moved forward against the third hostile emplacement, and skillfully neutralized the remaining enemy position. As his comrades moved forward to join him, Master Sergeant Keeble continued to direct accurate fire against nearby trenches, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy. Inspired by his courage, Company G successfully moved forward and seized its important objective. The extraordinary courage, selfless service, and devotion to duty displayed that day by Master Sergeant Keeble was an inspiration to all around him and reflected great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
Additional honors
On March 17, 2008, the South Dakota Governor Mike RoundsMike Rounds
Marion Michael "Mike" Rounds is an American politician. Rounds served as the 31st Governor of South Dakota. Rounds was first inaugurated on January 7, 2003, having been elected on November 5, 2002, and was re-elected on November 7, 2006...
, before a joint session of the State Congress, officially proclaimed the date to be forever commemorated as Woodrow Wilson Keeble Day in the state of South Dakota.
On July 23, 2008, North Dakota Governor John Hoeven
John Hoeven
John Henry Hoeven III is the junior United States Senator from North Dakota. He is a member of the North Dakota Republican Party. He is expected to become the state's senior senator when Kent Conrad retires from the Senate in January 2013.Hoeven served as the 31st Governor of North Dakota,...
posthumously presented Keeble with the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, The award recognizes present or former North Dakotans who achieve national recognition in their fields of endeavor.
In addition to these awards, numerous regional sites also pay homage to the memory of Woodrow Keeble. A section of U.S. Highway 12 near Keeble's birthplace in Waubay, South Dakota, is named in his honor. A special shelter in Chahinkapa Park in Wahpeton was built in his honor. Previous to the Medal of Honor ceremony, the gymnasium at the Wahpeton Indian School, now called the Circle of Nations School, was named for him. In May 2008, the school celebrated its 100th anniversary and named a new dormitory for Keeble. The State of North Dakota erected a Medal of Honor Memorial in Roosevelt Park in Minot. North Dakota has more Medal of Honor recipients, per capita, than any other state. A separate pillar was built for Woodrow Keeble. It was dedicated during a special celebration on July 4, 2008. A new Armed Forces Reserve Center in Sioux Falls has also been named for Keeble.
See also
- List of Korean War Medal of Honor recipients