Miguel  Keith

MIGUEL KEITH (1951 ~ 1970). Miguel Keith was born on June 2, 1951, in San Antonio, Texas. He attended North High School in Omaha, Nebraska. Keith left high school in December 1968 and joined the Marine Corps Reserve in Omaha on January 21, 1969. He was discharged from the reserves on April 30, 1969, and enlisted in the regular Marine Corps on May 1, 1969.

Keith trained at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego before entering individual combat training at Camp Pendleton, California, that July. He remained there until September, when he received his orders to Vietnam. Keith arrived in Vietnam on November 6, 1969, assigned to the First Combined Action Group, Third Marine Amphibious Force as a Private First Class. He was promoted to Lance Corporal on April 1, 1970.

On May 8, 1970, Keith was operating a machine gun in the Quang Ngai Province of Vietnam. Early that morning, a numerically superior enemy force attacked his unit's position. During the attack Keith was seriously wounded by enemy fire. Though wounded, Keith exposed himself to enemy fire to check on important defenses. He then used his machine gun to deliver heavy fire against the enemy. Keith saw a group of five enemy soldiers heading toward the Marine command post and rushed forward and fired at them while running. He killed three of the enemy and forced the other two to retreat. A grenade exploded near Keith and knocked him to the ground, inflicting more serious and painful injuries. An estimated force of about 25 enemy soldiers was preparing to attack near Keith, and despite weakness from the loss of blood, Keith charged the group alone. He killed four of the enemy and forced the rest to take cover. As he neared the enemy position, Keith was mortally wounded by enemy fire. Keith's courage against a numerically superior enemy contributed to his unit's success, and Keith was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Keith's Medal of Honor was presented to his family by Vice President Spiro T. Agnew on September 15, 1971, at the White House. In 1983, a new barracks building was named in his honor at Henderson Hall; the Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington D.C. Keith is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Omaha, Nebraska.

Bibliography: "Above and Beyond: The Medal of Honor in Texas," Capitol Visitors Center, State Preservation Board of Texas. Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association, University of Texas, http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/KK/fkeyj.html, June 14, 2006. Pettiely, Kris, "PME to Focus on Medal of Honor Recipient Miguel Keith," Henderson Hall News, DC Military.com, September 15, 2000, http://www.dcmilitary.com/marines/hendersonhall/5_37/national_news/1407-1.html, May 1, 2006. "Who's Who in Marine Corps History," United States Marine Corps History Division, http://hqinet001.hqmc.usmc.mil/hd/Historical/Whos_Who/Keith_M.htm, April 26, 2006.