A Belated Posthumous Medal of Honor for a Sioux Warrior (Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Keeble)

American Thinker ^ | March 02, 2008 | John B. Dwyer

[ex-Texan]

Bravo ! . . . Bump to the Top !

[indcons]

Kudos to a brave warrior.

Thanks for the heads up, Sunken Civ.





"On behalf of our grateful nation, I deeply regret that this tribute comes decades too late," Bush said at the White House medal ceremony. "Woody will never hold this medal in his hands or wear it on his uniform. He will never hear a president thank him for his heroism. He will never stand here to see the pride of his friends and loved ones, as I see in their eyes now."

But, Bush said, there are things the nation can still do for Keeble, even all these years later.

"We can tell his story. We can honor his memory. And we can follow his lead, by showing all those who have followed him on the battlefield the same love and generosity of spirit that Woody showed his country every day," the president said before a somber East Room audience that included three rows of Keeble's family members.

Fellow soldiers, family members and others have been pushing Congress and the White House for years to award Keeble the medal. They said the man known as "Chief," a member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux tribe, deserves the medal for his actions in Korea in 1951, when he saved the lives of other soldiers by taking out more than a dozen of their enemies on a steep hill, even though he himself was wounded.

"Soldiers watched in awe as Woody single-handedly took out one machine gun nest, and then another," Bush said. "When Woody was through, all 16 enemy soldiers were dead, the hill was taken, and the Allies won the day."
[http://www.kidk.com/news/national/16213282.html]

[TMSuchman]

A large and loud

SEMPER FI! & salute to a real AMERICAN hero!

[AnAmericanMother]

To paraphrase Kipling, "He'll be happy where he knows."

God I'm sure has already rewarded this brave and faithful man in ways we cannot understand . . . but I'm glad for his family -- and for us -- that he has received this honor which is long overdue.

[Mr. Silverback]

Woyuonihan indeed!

A sharp salute for a hero proved in liberating strife.

[XR7]

BTTT

[quikdrw]

Rene Gagnon, Franklin Sousley, John Bradley, Mike Strank, Harlon Block and Ira Hayes. My spelling of their names may not be right, but those are the six men who raised the scond flag over Mt. Suribachi. John Bradley was in on the first flag raising over Mt. Suribachi, too.

[calex59]

Yes, you got it right. Heros all but some of them didn’t make it off of Iwo. At least 3 of them died before Iwo was won. All of the men who fought on Iwo were heros as far as I am concerned. Born in 1942, I had many relatives who fought, and some who died, in WWII. What a disaster our country has become. If they could come back they would be glad they are dead now rather than to witness what our country has become.

[quikdrw]

Three of them died on Iwo Jima. Mike Strank, Harlon Block and Franklin Sousley all died there, in that order.

Ira Hayes never got over Mike Strank’s death. Mike was Ira’s hero.

Navy Corpsman John Bradley was wounded.

I’m twenty years younger than you. My father, his brothers and brothers-in-law all fought in WWII. All of them came home from the war. One of my uncles was horribly wounded at Anzio. He lived, but was disabled all of his life.

They are all gone, now. And I miss them all.

[calex59]

They are all gone, now. And I miss them all.

Yeah, I miss mine too. Cheers, and it is good to know at least one person remembers and knows.

[atrulling]

Thank You everyone for your wonderful words. Woody was a comrade and friend of my grandfather. They served together on Guadalcanal and most of Co. I came home to the same small town in North Dakota (Wahpeton).

I will be going to an event that his tribe will be holding to honor Woody and the Medal of Honor on March 22nd. I would like to bring with me thoughts and notes from people around the country. I was wondering if you could take a couple minutes and handwrite (it seems more personal) and mail it to me (I’m actually using my sister’s work address for safety reasons- you can never be to safe). I think that these little things would mean a lot to his family. I think they are missing what the average American is saying this week since they are realing from the ceremonies that have been so long in coming. Thank You in advance.

Amy Trullinger

Family of Woodrow Keeble/
Michelle Trullinger
6388 E. County Line Rd.
Highlands Ranch, CO 80126

[BerryDingle]

Woody will never be forgotten as long as I'm around.