News Releases for July 2008
July 23, 2008
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Hoeven Posthumously Presents Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award To Woodrow Wilson Keeble
Rough Rider Gallery Addition of Woodrow Wilson Keeble
BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. John Hoeven today posthumously presented the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award to Woodrow Wilson Keeble at a ceremony honoring the World War II and Korean War hero at the Dakota Magic Casino in Hankinson. Along with family and community members, Hoeven unveiled a portrait of the former Master Sergeant that will hang in the state Capitol Building in Bismarck along with the portraits of other notable North Dakotans who have distinguished themselves beyond the state’s borders. The 188th Army Band Brass Quintet and a Matosapa Honor Song sung by the Wahpe Kute Singers accompanied the event.
Joining Hoeven for the ceremony were Keeble’s stepson, Russell Hawkins, and his great-nephew, Kurt Bluedog. Also in attendance were Chairman Mike Selvage and the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Tribal Council; N.D. Adjutant General David Sprynczynatyk; Special Assistant to the Director of the Army National Guard Major General Raymond W. Carpenter; Commandant of the 164th Regiment Regional Training Institute Command Sgt. Maj. Gerald L. Miller; and Keeble friend and fellow veteran Jim Fenelon of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
“Woody Keeble is a source of pride for the State of North Dakota, the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate nation, and the North Dakota National Guard,” Hoeven said. “His courage, determination and willingness to risk his life for others in the face of incredible adversity embody the spirit of our veterans and our soldiers, who serve selflessly and with distinction from generation to generation.”
Master Sergeant Woodrow “Woody” Wilson Keeble is one of the most decorated Soldiers in North Dakota history. A veteran of World War II and the Korean War, Keeble was presented with the Medal of Honor posthumously on March 3, 2008 at the White House. He is the first full-blooded Sioux Indian to receive the nation’s highest military honor. He was inducted into the Pentagon Hall of Heroes on March 4, 2008.
Keeble was born on the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Reservation in Waubay, S.D., and made his hometown in Wahpeton, N.D. He joined the North Dakota National Guard in 1942, and was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 164th Infantry Regiment (Rifle).
His unit became the first U.S. Army unit to engage in offensive operations in WWII when they reinforced the 1st Marine Division at Guadalcanal. The 164th Infantry Regiment significantly contributed to decisive victory in the battle. Keeble received his first Bronze Star Medal, his first of four Purple Hearts and the Combat Infantryman Badge for his actions at Guadalcanal.
Keeble reenlisted with the 164th Infantry Regiment at the beginning of the Korean War and later volunteered for a combat assignment with an active duty Army unit. He served with Company G, 19th Infantry of the 24th Infantry Division in Korea, where his actions would eventually earn him the nation’s highest military honor.
On October 20, 1951, when all of the officers of his company were killed or wounded, Keeble took charge of the support platoon, attempting to complete the company’s mission of taking control of a steep, rocky and heavily fortified hill.
Although treated the day before for over eighty shrapnel wounds, Keeble returned to duty on the day his actions earned him the Medal of Honor. Armed with grenades and his rifle, Keeble successfully conducted multiple, single-handed assaults against three well-fortified enemy positions. These heroic actions saved the lives of his fellow soldiers and inspired his company to achieve its important objective.
Keeble’s famous comments exemplify his military service: “There were terrible moments that encompassed a lifetime, 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.”
At the presentation of the Medal of Honor, President George W. Bush remarked, “Woody Keeble’s act of heroism saved many American lives, and earned him a permanent place in his fellow soldiers’ hearts.”
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