“Woody” Keeble fought in WWII and Korea and became a US Army legend . . .

Born on May 16, 1917, in Waubay, South Dakota, Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Keeble, attended Wahpeton Indian School, excelled in sports, and as an outstanding amateur baseball pitcher was on his way to a spot on the Chicago White Sox when he was called up for World War II.

Serving with the famed North Dakota 164th Infantry Regiment, Keeble landed on Guadalcanal in October 1942, and as part of the US Army's Americal Division he fought alongside the 1st Marine Division.

Respected as a fearless warrior who never backed down and always put his fellow soldiers first, Keeble earned the reputation as an expert BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) gunner and deadly-accurate grenade thrower.

During the bloody battle for Guadalcanal, the 25-year-old soldier, described as a "gentle giant” by his family and friends, frequently fought in terrifying, night-long, hand-to-hand engagements against the well-trained, oftentimes fanatical Japanese defenders.

"The safest place to be was right next to Woody,” one of his buddies said of the formidable, six-foot-two, 235-pound Sioux Indian.

Keeble went on to fight at Bougainville, Leyte, Cebu, and Mindanao, and after the war returned to South Dakota. Discharged from the Army, he married, started a family and became a teacher. But his fighting days were far from over.

In 1951, with the Korean War raging and the 164th reactivated, Keeble volunteered to fight in Korea. "Somebody has to teach these kids how to fight," he told one of his officers before heading to the front lines.

From October 15-20, 1951, Master Sergeant Keeble, serving as an acting platoon leader with the 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, became a US Army legend.

Wounded multiple times during the six days of almost nonstop fighting, Keeble led his men against overwhelming Chinese forces, attacked and destroyed enemy machine gun bunkers and refused to be evacuated for his injuries.

On the final day of the fighting near Sangsan-ni, Korea, Keeble, pinned down by enemy fire, crawled towards a hostile machine gun emplacement, threw a grenade inside, and with his rifle finished off the remaining gun crew.

With his men watching in amazement, the enraged master sergeant then moved to a second bunker, destroyed it, and despite a withering barrage of bullets and grenades now descending upon him, the lone American attacked and destroyed a third emplacement.

“There were so many grenades coming down on Woody,” a member of his platoon later recalled, "that it looked like a flock of blackbirds.” For his "extraordinary courage, selfless service, and devotion to duty,” Keeble was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

Keeble survived the war, recovered from his wounds, and was discharged from the Army. He returned home, became an active member of his local VFW, and died on January 28, 1982, at the age of 64.

Postscript:

On March 3, 2008, nearly 60 years after his heroic actions in Korea and 26 years after his death, Keeble’s DSC was reviewed by Congress and upgraded to the Medal of Honor, making him the first full-blooded Sioux Indian to earn the nation's highest award for valor. During his army career he also received two Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars, and four Purple Hearts.

According to Russell Hawkins, Keeble's stepson who accepted the MOH on behalf of the late master sergeant, Keeble had 83 grenade fragments removed from his body after Korea. "You could tell that the wounds bothered him sometimes,” Hawkins said, "but he never complained.”

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Woodrow W Keeble