An American Hero!
On Monday, after service in World War II and the Korean War, two lost recommendations from his unit, and an act of Congress,[Woodrow Wilson] “Woody” Keeble was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his valor, more than 50 years after his service and 26 years after his death.
During the fall of 1951, Keeble’s company were ordered to conquer a series of hills protecting a Chinese communist supply line. His body covered with wounds from earlier attacks, Keeble took the initiative and killed 16 enemy soldiers while helping his company take one of the hills.
“He grabbed grenades and his weapon and climbed that crucial hill alone. Woody climbed hundreds of yards through dirt and rock, with his wounds aching, bullets flying, and grenades falling all around him,” Bush said.
A soldier who saw Keeble said, “Either he’s the bravest soldier I have ever met, or he’s crazy.”
At the University of North Dakota’s last home hockey game an announcement was made of this award honoring this great American. Within the first twenty seconds of the tribute the entire crowd was on it’s feet clapping.
Woodrow Wilson Keeble was a member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux tribe, a great North Dakotan and great American.
