NATIVE AMERICAN INDIANS AWARDED THE U.S. MEDAL OF HONOR Woodrow Wilson Keeble Sisseton Wahpeton

Woodrow Wilson Keeble was a U.S. Army National Guard combat veteran of both World War II and the Korean War. He was a full-blooded member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation & the first full-blooded Lakotah to receive the Medal of Honor

Master Sergeant Keeble, a highly-decorated U.S. war veteran, didn't receive his Medal of Honor until some 16 years after his death

WHITEHOUSE, March 3, 2008 — President George W. Bush applauds after presenting the Medal of Honor posthumously to family members of U.S. Army Master Sgt. Woodrow Wilson Keeble, Monday, March 3, 2008 in the East Room of the White House, in honor of Master Sgt. Keeble’s gallantry during his service in the Korean War. Kurt Bluedog, left, Keeble’s great nephew, and Russ Hawkins, a step-son, accepted the award honoring Keeble, the first full-blooded Sioux Indian to receive the Medal of Honor

WHAT IS THE MEDAL OF HONOR?

The Medal of Honor is the highest U.S. military decoration awarded to individuals who, while serving in the U.S. armed services, have distinguished themselves by conspicuous gallantry and courage at the risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty.

Each recommendation for this decoration must incontestably prove that the act of bravery or self-sacrifice involved obvious risk of life and, if the risk hadn't been taken, there would be no just grounds for censure. The award is made in the name of congress and is presented by the President of the United States. Originally authorized by congress in 1861, it's sometimes called the "Congressional Medal of Honor."

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