Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

2nd Lieutenant (Second-lieutenant)

Unit:

Company A, 532nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment, 2nd Engineer Special Brigade, South West Pacific Area (SWPA), Allied Forces

Awarded on:

1943

Citation:
"For extraordinary heroism in action near Nassau Bay, New Guinea, on 2 July 1943. After the initial landing of American forces on Nassau Bay, medical supplies were urgently needed. Despite the probability of enemy attack, Second Lieutenant Keele, in command of a small craft, proceeded in broad daylight to effect the delivery. Before the trip was half completed, enemy aircraft attacked the boat. Althought wounded five times, Second Lieutenant Keele refused to allow the crew to turn back to the nearest hospital, and insisted that the vessel continue. The supplies were delivered, in spite of the rough seas. More than ten hours elapsed before he could reach a hospital, and he died of his wounds five days later. In placing the completion of his mission ahead of his own welfare, Second Lieutenant Keele showed the true quality of a soldier."

Posthumously awarded.
Headquarters, U.S. Army Forces in the Far East, General Orders No. 62 (1943).