Woodrow Keeble

Senator John Thune, following similar moves from Senator Tim Johnson and former Senator Tom Daschle, is calling on the Defense Department to award Master Sergeant Woodrow Keeble with the Medal of Honor.  Argus Leader excerpt:

Sen. John Thune is co-sponsoring legislation that would clear the way for Keeble to receive the long-overdue honor and recognition.

That legislation would authorize President Bush to posthumously award the medal to Keeble, a member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe. He would be the first Dakota Sioux to receive the Medal of Honor.

"He went beyond the call of duty not for a medal but for the mission he believed in and the country he loved. Master Sgt. Keeble's legacy is a great source of pride for his family, his fellow Dakota Sioux and all Americans," Thune said.

In recent years Sen. Tim Johnson and former Sen. Tom Daschle made the case, too.

Knowledge of the history of Keeble's situation leaves no doubt about the merit.

After serving in the Army in World War II, he re-enlisted for the Korean War. In 1951, Keeble was among those attacked by Chinese troops near Kumsong. He suffered wounds to the chest, arms, left thigh, right calf and knee as he led three platoons in an attack and relieved a platoon pinned down by machine gunfire. He took out three machine gun emplacements and drove Chinese soldiers from two trenches.

He was decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star First Oak Leaf Cluster and the Purple Heart with the Oak Leaf Cluster. Although temporary company leader Joe Sagami, a first sergeant, twice recommended that Keeble receive the Medal of Honor, he never received it.