Medal Of Honor For Woodrow W. Keeble?

The new House funding bill for Iraq includes several interesting provisions, such as authorization for a Texas prison, transfer of an Army base to the Pennsylvania National Guard, a study on the number of private contractors in Iraq (long favored by Rep. Jack Murtha, the Democratic chairman of the Defense subcommittee on House Appropriations), as well as language to grant a waiver of the statute of limitations for awarding a Congressional Medal of Honor to Woodrow W. Keeble.

Who is Woodrow W. Keeble, and why does he deserve a Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award?

Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) have long been urging that Keeble be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, and they have even offered legislation this year to do so. The Pentagon is prevented from re-opening Keeble's case unless Congress waives time restrictions on granting the MoH.

 This is from a press release issued by Johnson's office on March 27:

"Master Sergeant Keeble, a member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe, was an Army veteran of both World War II and the Korean War. For his service, he was awarded the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Silver Star, and the Distinguished Service Cross. The last decoration was awarded for his actions near Kumsong, North Korea in October 1951. After many days of fighting in the bitter cold, and though he was wounded, Master Sergeant Keeble single-handedly took out three enemy machine-gun emplacements. His bravery in the face of enemy fire was so remarkable that the men in his company twice submitted recommendations that he receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. In both cases, the recommendation was lost. Master Sergeant Keeble returned home after the war, and died in 1982. Keeble's family and friends have remained dedicated to the efforts of reaching this goal."

After nearly 56 years, it would be nice to see Keeble's heroism recognized with a Medal of Honor.