Woodrow Keeble Posthumously Awarded Congressional Medal of Honor by President George W. Bush at White House Ceremony

On March 3, 2008, in a ceremony at the White House, President George W. Bush formally presented the Congressional Medal of Honor to the family of former Sergeant First Class Woodrow Wilson Keeble, who was posthumously honored almost 57 years after engaging in the actions which brought him the award. The Medal of Honor, the highest medal for valor in combat, is awarded by the President of the United States on behalf of Congress. According to the U.S. Army, Keeble's case was championed by the four U.S. Senators of North and South Dakota (he lived in the former state and was born in the latter).

"Woody" Keeble was a legendary soldier. After single-handedly wiping out three machine-gun nests during the Korean War, "Woody" Keeble was twice recommended for the Medal of Honor, but both recommendations were lost. A third recommendation was turned down on the basis that his infantry division already had filled its quota for Medals of Honor. Further appeals were turned down by the Department of Defense on the basis that too much time had intervened between the action and the recommendation. Woody Keeble did not go unrecognized; instead, the non-commissioned officer was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest decoration for bravery.

With the award by President Bush, Woodrow Keeble became the first full-blooded Sioux Indian to receive the Medal of Honor. A veteran of both World War Two and the Korean Conflict, Keeble -- who was born into the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux tribe in Waubay, South Dakota, on May 15, 1917 but raised and lived in North Dakota -- was the most decorated soldier in North Dakota history. He won the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, multiple Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts and two Combat Infantryman Badges (one for each war).