Medal of Honor awarded 57 years later

WASHINGTON, March 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. Defense Department Tuesday inducted the late Army Master Sgt. Woodrow Keeble into its Hall of Heroes, the day after he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Keeble, who died 26 years ago, was honored posthumously for his heroism in the Korean War. He is the first full-blooded Sioux Indian to be awarded the nation's highest for combat valor, the American Forces Press Service reported.

Keeble put his life on the line during an October 1951 offensive. Despite being wounded with 83 grenade fragments in his body, Keeble shrugged off medics and charged an enemy-held hill solo, armed only with grenades and a Browning automatic rifle, the report said.

"Woody knew the enemy machine guns in the heavily-fortified pillboxes were the problem. He resolved, 'I'm going to take them out or die trying,'" said Gen. Richard A. Cody, the Army's vice chief of staff.

While he was recommended for the Medal of Honor by every surviving member of his unit at the time, "administrative errors" and "bureaucratic processes" led to the delay.

Keeble first fought in World War II, having joined the North Dakota National Guard in 1942. He also won four purple hearts and the bronze star.