Woodrow W. Keeble - Someone You Should Know

Posted By Blackfive

“The safest place to be was right next to Woody.” - James Fenelon, US Army, about Woodrow W. Keeble on Guadalcanal

On Monday, President Bush awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously to Master Sergeant Woodrow W. Keeble.  Woody Keeble is the first Sioux to be awarded the Medal.

Woodrow Keeble grew up in North Dakota (born in 1917).  When he was a young boy, his mother died so his father put him in a boarding school.  He grew to be a big athletic student and was about to go play baseball (pitcher) for the Chicago White Sox when World War II broke out.

During WWII, Keeble served with the ND National Guard's 164th Infantry Regiment.  Instead of heading to Europe, the 164th prepared to take part in a legendary operation known as the Battle of Guadalcanal.  Because the Marines had taken extremely heavy casualties establishing a beachhead, Keeble's unit was broken up and interspersed with the Marines to fight their way inland.  The North Dakota National Guardsmen became legendary jungle fighters during the next few weeks.  Keeble became famous for carrying the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) - the squads machine gun - and, as point man, clearing enemy positions with devastatingly accurate fire.  Then, Keeble would use his professional baseball skills and clear enemy hold outs in bunkers and trenches with grenades from dozens of meters away.  Keeble was awarded the Bronze Star for his actions on Guadalcanal.  The 164th fought so well that the Marines put them in for the Navy Combat Citation.  After Guadalcanal, Keeble and his unit fought island to island - Bougainville, Leyte, Cebu, and Mindanao - until ultimately landing on Japan to accept their surrender.  Woodrow Keeble received four purple hearts during World War II.

After WWII, Keeble reflected on his time in combat, "“During the 13 months, 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. And yet I have never left my position, nor have I shirked hazardous duty. Fear did not make a coward out of me.”

When the Korean War broke out, the 164th was activated and the commander decided to hold a lottery to see who would be sent to the front lines and who would be assigned training duties.  Keeble, at 34, volunteered to go to the front lines.

Assigned to the 24th Infantry Division, Keeble soon rose to the rank of Master Sergeant.  In October of 1951, Keeble's unit was charged with taking several mountains surrounding a Chinese base.  During the extreme combat, Keeble was wounded on October 15th...

Then he was wounded again on October 17th...

And again on October 18th...he received the Silver Star for his actions that day.

On October 19th, Keeble had 83 pieces of shrapnel removed from his body.  He was told to stay in the rear of the operation and rest.  Woodrow Keeble refused.  All of the officers had been killed.  Keeble was in command of three platoons.  He would not abandon his company.

And, so, on the final assault, he was wounded again on October 20th when his company stormed the last mountain protecting the Chinese base. Keeble led all three platoons in assault after assault upon the Chinese. All charges were repulsed, and the company suffered heavy casualties. The defensive trenches were filled with enemy soldiers and were protected by three pillboxes containing machine guns and additional Chinese soldiers surrounded the hill. 

Keeble, calling in mortar and artillery support, finally decimated the enemy - the Chinese soldiers in the open trenches suffered heavy casualties. The machine gunners in the pillboxes however, continued to direct fire on the company.  One of Keeble's platoons was pinned down.  He quickly moved to their position, assessed the situation, and took his tools - his familiar Browning and some grenades - and moved out, deciding on a fourth assault.  But this time, angry but determined, he decided that he would go alone and either take the pillboxes out or die trying.

Keeble crawled to an area a few dozen yards down from the enemy occupied ridge, to the side the left pillbox.  He threw several grenades and used the BAR to finish off the soldiers in the pillbox.  After returning to a secure point near his company, Keeble then crawled to the opposite side of the ridgeline and took out the right pillbox with grenades. The enemy realized the threat and grenades and rifle fire rained around the Sergeant.  After being initially stunned by a grenade, Keeble then advanced on the center machine gun nest and took it out with more grenades.

He single handedly took out three enemy fortified machine gun positions with grenades killing sixteen soldiers and slipped into the supporting trenches to kill another seven Chinese soldiers.  Only after securing the mountain did Keeble then stand and order his men to follow him and carry the day.  It was the last major UN offensive of the Korean War.

After the battle, Keeble's chain of command nominated him for the Medal of Honor - in fact, every surviving member of Keeble's company wrote letters of support.  Three times the paperwork was submitted.  The problem was that the 24th Infantry Division had already reached it's quota for MOHs and couldn't award another.  In addition to the Purple Hearts, Bronze Star and Silver Star he had been awarded in Korea, Woodrow Keeble was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross instead of the Medal of Honor.

Photo courtesy of Vets Incorporated

After the Korean War, Keeble returned home and had a good life that was beset at times by tragedy and adversity.  Returning home, Keeble had been teaching at his school when he contracted tuberculosis.  Doctors had to remove one of his lungs, and over the years his health deteriorated to the point where he was partially paralyzed and rendered speechless.  Months later his wife passed away.  A single father unable to work or care much for himself or his son, Earl, Woody Keeble was forced to sell his medals to pay bills.

Still, Woodrow was strong.  He remarried in 1967 to Blossom Hawkins and gained a step-son, Russell. He continued to support soldiers and veterans throughout his life.

Russell said this about his step-father, "Guadalcanal seemed to be on his mind a lot.  His fellow Soldiers said he had to fight a lot of hand-to-hand fights with the Japanese, so he saw their faces. Every now and then he would get a far-away look in his eyes, and I knew he was thinking about those men and the things he had to do."

Despite all of the conflict that nearly took him from this earth, Woodrow Keeble's life was good until his passing in 1982.

Over the years, beginning in 1972, the fight to award Woodrow Keeble the Medal of Honor has been fierce.  And other efforts secured a new set of medals to be given to his family in 2006.  They now reside at the University of North Dakota.  And, recently, Senator John Thune was instrumental in getting the time restrictions lifted in order to allow President Bush to award the Medal to Woodrow Keeble.  If you've stuck with me this far, you know that President Bush would do the right thing for this American hero.

Below is the Citation for the Medal of Honor that Master Sergeant Keeble's step-son received on Monday, March 3rd, 2008:

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.

Upon accepting the Medal of Honor for his step-father , Russell Hawkins said, "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."

The President of the United States said at the MOH ceremony, "There are some things we can still do for him. We can tell his story. We can honor his memory. And we can follow his lead – by showing all those who have followed him on the battlefield the same love and generosity of spirit that Woody showed his country every day...The Sioux have a saying: ‘The life of a man is a circle’. Today, we complete Woody Keeble’s circle – from an example to his men to an example for the ages.” 

Woodrow Keeble took the lives of many of our nation's enemies.  And by doing that, he saved many, many American lives.  He carried the terrible wounds and memories of it throughout his life.  It's important to note that he and his family, without resentment or remorse, paid a price for his service over and over again.  And that, our nation will survive as long as we have people like Woody Keeble.

We all are like Russell, at times, living with greatness and never knowing it. 

Godspeed, Woody.  Well deserved and thank you!

[Thanks to reader Chris E. who wanted to see Woody honored on Blackfive.  All of the information above comes from the US Army, The US Army National Guard, the Department of Defense, and the White House.]

[Be sure to read the rest of the President's remarks about Woody here.]

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Woodrow W. Keeble - Someone You Should Know

“The safest place to be was right next to Woody.” - James Fenelon, US Army, about Woodrow W. Keeble on Guadalcanal

On Monday, President Bush awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously to Master Sergeant Woodrow W. Keeble.  Woody Keeble is the first Sioux to be awarded the Medal.

Woodrow Keeble grew up in North Dakota (born in 1917).  When he was a young boy, his mother died so his father put him in a boarding school.  He grew to be a big athletic student and was about to go play baseball (pitcher) for the Chicago White Sox when World War II broke out.

During WWII, Keeble served with the ND National Guard's 164th Infantry Regiment.  Instead of heading to Europe, the 164th prepared to take part in a legendary operation known as the Battle of Guadalcanal.  Because the Marines had taken extremely heavy casualties establishing a beachhead, Keeble's unit was broken up and interspersed with the Marines to fight their way inland.  The North Dakota National Guardsmen became legendary jungle fighters during the next few weeks.  Keeble became famous for carrying the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) - the squads machine gun - and, as point man, clearing enemy positions with devastatingly accurate fire.  Then, Keeble would use his professional baseball skills and clear enemy hold outs in bunkers and trenches with grenades from dozens of meters away.  Keeble was awarded the Bronze Star for his actions on Guadalcanal.  The 164th fought so well that the Marines put them in for the Navy Combat Citation.  After Guadalcanal, Keeble and his unit fought island to island - Bougainville, Leyte, Cebu, and Mindanao - until ultimately landing on Japan to accept their surrender.  Woodrow Keeble received four purple hearts during World War II.

After WWII, Keeble reflected on his time in combat, "“During the 13 months, 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. And yet I have never left my position, nor have I shirked hazardous duty. Fear did not make a coward out of me.”

When the Korean War broke out, the 164th was activated and the commander decided to hold a lottery to see who would be sent to the front lines and who would be assigned training duties.  Keeble, at 34, volunteered to go to the front lines.

Assigned to the 24th Infantry Division, Keeble soon rose to the rank of Master Sergeant.  In October of 1951, Keeble's unit was charged with taking several mountains surrounding a Chinese base.  During the extreme combat, Keeble was wounded on October 15th...

Then he was wounded again on October 17th...

And again on October 18th...he received the Silver Star for his actions that day.

On October 19th, Keeble had 83 pieces of shrapnel removed from his body.  He was told to stay in the rear of the operation and rest.  Woodrow Keeble refused.  All of the officers had been killed.  Keeble was in command of three platoons.  He would not abandon his company.

And, so, on the final assault, he was wounded again on October 20th when his company stormed the last mountain protecting the Chinese base. Keeble led all three platoons in assault after assault upon the Chinese. All charges were repulsed, and the company suffered heavy casualties. The defensive trenches were filled with enemy soldiers and were protected by three pillboxes containing machine guns and additional Chinese soldiers surrounded the hill. 

Keeble, calling in mortar and artillery support, finally decimated the enemy - the Chinese soldiers in the open trenches suffered heavy casualties. The machine gunners in the pillboxes however, continued to direct fire on the company.  One of Keeble's platoons was pinned down.  He quickly moved to their position, assessed the situation, and took his tools - his familiar Browning and some grenades - and moved out, deciding on a fourth assault.  But this time, angry but determined, he decided that he would go alone and either take the pillboxes out or die trying.

Keeble crawled to an area a few dozen yards down from the enemy occupied ridge, to the side the left pillbox.  He threw several grenades and used the BAR to finish off the soldiers in the pillbox.  After returning to a secure point near his company, Keeble then crawled to the opposite side of the ridgeline and took out the right pillbox with grenades. The enemy realized the threat and grenades and rifle fire rained around the Sergeant.  After being initially stunned by a grenade, Keeble then advanced on the center machine gun nest and took it out with more grenades.

He single handedly took out three enemy fortified machine gun positions with grenades killing sixteen soldiers and slipped into the supporting trenches to kill another seven Chinese soldiers.  Only after securing the mountain did Keeble then stand and order his men to follow him and carry the day.  It was the last major UN offensive of the Korean War.

After the battle, Keeble's chain of command nominated him for the Medal of Honor - in fact, every surviving member of Keeble's company wrote letters of support.  Three times the paperwork was submitted.  The problem was that the 24th Infantry Division had already reached it's quota for MOHs and couldn't award another.  In addition to the Purple Hearts, Bronze Star and Silver Star he had been awarded in Korea, Woodrow Keeble was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross instead of the Medal of Honor.

Photo courtesy of Vets Incorporated

After the Korean War, Keeble returned home and had a good life that was beset at times by tragedy and adversity.  Returning home, Keeble had been teaching at his school when he contracted tuberculosis.  Doctors had to remove one of his lungs, and over the years his health deteriorated to the point where he was partially paralyzed and rendered speechless.  Months later his wife passed away.  A single father unable to work or care much for himself or his son, Earl, Woody Keeble was forced to sell his medals to pay bills.

Still, Woodrow was strong.  He remarried in 1967 to Blossom Hawkins and gained a step-son, Russell. He continued to support soldiers and veterans throughout his life.

Russell said this about his step-father, "Guadalcanal seemed to be on his mind a lot.  His fellow Soldiers said he had to fight a lot of hand-to-hand fights with the Japanese, so he saw their faces. Every now and then he would get a far-away look in his eyes, and I knew he was thinking about those men and the things he had to do."

Despite all of the conflict that nearly took him from this earth, Woodrow Keeble's life was good until his passing in 1982.

Over the years, beginning in 1972, the fight to award Woodrow Keeble the Medal of Honor has been fierce.  And other efforts secured a new set of medals to be given to his family in 2006.  They now reside at the University of North Dakota.  And, recently, Senator John Thune was instrumental in getting the time restrictions lifted in order to allow President Bush to award the Medal to Woodrow Keeble.  If you've stuck with me this far, you know that President Bush would do the right thing for this American hero.

Below is the Citation for the Medal of Honor that Master Sergeant Keeble's step-son received on Monday, March 3rd, 2008:

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.

Upon accepting the Medal of Honor for his step-father , Russell Hawkins said, "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."

The President of the United States said at the MOH ceremony, "There are some things we can still do for him. We can tell his story. We can honor his memory. And we can follow his lead – by showing all those who have followed him on the battlefield the same love and generosity of spirit that Woody showed his country every day...The Sioux have a saying: ‘The life of a man is a circle’. Today, we complete Woody Keeble’s circle – from an example to his men to an example for the ages.” 

Woodrow Keeble took the lives of many of our nation's enemies.  And by doing that, he saved many, many American lives.  He carried the terrible wounds and memories of it throughout his life.  It's important to note that he and his family, without resentment or remorse, paid a price for his service over and over again.  And that, our nation will survive as long as we have people like Woody Keeble.

We all are like Russell, at times, living with greatness and never knowing it. 

Godspeed, Woody.  Well deserved and thank you!

[Thanks to reader Chris E. who wanted to see Woody honored on Blackfive.  All of the information above comes from the US Army, The US Army National Guard, the Department of Defense, and the White House.]

[Be sure to read the rest of the President's remarks about Woody here.]

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