Hometown: Omaha, NE
Branch: U.S. Marine Corps
Unit: Combined Action Platoon 1-3-2, III Marine Amphibious Force
Military Honors: Medal of Honor, Purple Heart
Date of Sacrifice: May 8, 1970 - KIA in Quảng Ngãi Province, Republic of Vietnam 
Age: 18
Conflict: Vietnam War, 1959-1975

Miguel Hernandez Keith was born in San Antonio, Texas on June 2, 1951. His parents divorced when he was very young, and his mother Delores married Bobbie Keith, a construction worker and Marine veteran. The Keith family moved frequently, following opportunities for construction work.

In the early 1960s, the family moved to Omaha, Nebraska. Miguel attended North High School, where he participated in the Junior ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) program. In January 1969, He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and was sent for basic training to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, California.

After completing basic training on July 17, 1969, Keith moved 40 miles south for combat infantry training at Camp Pendleton. In September, he was sent to Vietnam with Combined Action Platoon (CAP) 1-3-2, III Marine Amphibious Force.

PFC Keith volunteered for the Marines’ innovative CAP program, which the Nebraska Vietnam Veterans Memorial describes as “an innovative method of fighting the Viet Cong insurgency in the villages of South Vietnam. The program was built on trust. A Marine fifteen-man squad was assigned to live in a village. During the day, the Marines organized and trained the village militia to defend their village, taught school and helped with the rice harvest. The Navy Corpsman assigned with them provided medical care to the villagers. The Marines found that with proper training the militia were fierce and loyal fighters, and together the Marines and the Provisional Force were able to prevent the Viet Cong from preying upon the villages at will.”

Being a CAP Marine meant that you were often operating in isolation from larger U.S. military units. For the fifteen young Marines, the village became their home. PFC Keith’s squad was quartered in An Diem village in Quảng Ngãi Province.

On May 8, 1971, Miguel Keith, now a Lance Corporal, was standing watch in a forward defensive position near the village when enemy forces attacked from all sides. His courage in fending off the attack earned the 18-year-old LCpl. Miguel Keith the Congressional Medal of Honor. His citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a machine gunner with Combined Action Platoon 1-3-2. During the early morning L/Cpl. Keith was seriously wounded when his platoon was subjected to a heavy ground attack by a greatly outnumbering enemy force. Despite his painful wounds, he ran across the fire-swept terrain to check the security of vital defensive positions and then, while completely exposed to view, proceeded to deliver a hail of devastating machine-gun fire against the enemy. Determined to stop five of the enemy soldiers approaching the command post, he rushed forward, firing as he advanced. He succeeded in disposing of three of the attackers and in dispersing the remaining two. At this point, a grenade detonated near L/Cpl. Keith, knocking him to the ground and inflicting further severe wounds. Fighting pain and weakness from loss of blood, he again braved the concentrated hostile fire to charge an estimated 25 enemy soldiers who were massing to attack. The vigor of his assault and his well-placed fire eliminated four of the enemy soldiers while the remainder fled for cover. During this valiant effort, he was mortally wounded by an enemy soldier. By his courageous and inspiring performance in the face of almost overwhelming odds, L/Cpl. Keith contributed in large measure to the success of his platoon in routing a numerically superior enemy force, and upheld the finest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the U.S. Naval Service.

LCpl. Miguel Keith is honored at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., where his name is inscribed on Panel 11W, Line 132.

On May 8, 2021, the U.S. Navy commissioned its newest Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) ship USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5) at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California.

Sources
Marine Corps University: Lance Corporal Miguel Keith, USMC
The United State Navy Memorial: Miguel Hernandez Keith
United States Marine Corps History and Museums Division: Corporal Miguel Keith, USMC
Marine Corps University: Combined Action: U.S. Marines Fighting a Different War
Texas State Historical Association: Keith, Miguel (1951-1970)
Nebraska Vietnam Veterans Memorial: Miguel Keith, USMC
Congressional Medal of Honor Society: Miguel Keith
Miguel Keith Project: Marine and Omaha Hero
Burial Site: Find a Grave

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