Msgt. Woodrow W. Keeble aka "Woody" was no stranger to combat. The full blooded Native American of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate tribe had a talent for slaying Japanese in Guadalcanal, Leyte and Bougainville as a BAR man during WW2.
When Korea broke out, he volunteered to go to the front lines saying "Somebody has to teach these kids how to fight".
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Assigned to G Co, 2nd Bn, 19th Inf rgt, 24th ID, on October 15-20 1951, during vicious round-the-clock battles to take Hill 675-770 from the Chinese, Keeble was wounded four separate times (Oct. 15, 17,18, 20), awarded the Silver Star (Oct. 18) and the Distinguished Service Cross (Oct. 20) after he singlehandedly took out 3 enemy bunkers despite suffering from two gun shot wounds sustained two days before and 83 pieces of shrapnel lodge in his body and face.
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His bravery in the face of enemy fire was so remarkable that a recommendation that he receive the Medal of Honor was twice submitted. In both cases, the recommendation was lost. When Keeble's men endeavored to submit the recommendation a third time, officials informed them they were too late; they were told regulations prevented them from submitting another recommendation.
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Woody survived his wounds, and returned home and began to work in his local school. Keeble fell on hard times and is said to have pawned his service medals. Nevertheless, and despite surviving multiple strokes and TB, he persevered and moved on with his life until passing away in 1982.
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Only in 2008, his military records were finally rectified and his DSC was upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
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"There were terrible moments that encompassed a lifetime, an endlessness, when terror was so strong in me, that I could feel idiocy replace reason. Yet, I have never left my position, nor have I shirked hazardous duty. Fear did not make a coward out of me." #zerofoxtrot #stayzero #hardfuck #ww2 #korea