October 4, 2017

Awards & Decorations:

Distinguished Service Cross, Bronze Star with "V" Device, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Combat Medic Badge w/Star, Vietnam Campaign Medal w/'60' device, Expert Marksmanship Badge w/Rifle Bar, Parachutist Badge, Republic of Vietnam Military Merit Medal, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross w/Palm

Survived By:

his sister Judy C. Campbell

Honoree Bio:

From a young age, Keith Allen Campbell desired to serve in the United States Army and become an Army doctor. He enjoyed the outdoors and was quite athletic. His athletic talents included swimming, archery, horseback riding, and skydiving. At 17, he dropped out of high school to serve his country while earning his GED.

Keith Allen Campbell enlisted in the Army and attained the rank of Specialist 5. At the age of 20, he had served in the Army for nearly three years, including a period as a member of the 11th Special Forces Group. Campbell experienced his first combat deployment in the Dominican Republic, where he received a recommendation for the Bronze Star. Following his Honorable Discharge, Keith had plans to further his education. He put those plans on hold, and even though he had to accept a downgrade in rank, Keith re-enlisted to go to Vietnam as a combat medic with the 503rd Parachute Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade.

On February 8th, 1967, at the age of 20, SP4 Keith Campbell knowingly and willingly gave his life to save others while in the service of our country in Bien Hoa Province, Vietnam. Campbell's heroic actions saved the lives of many soldiers; where he not only provided life-saving medical treatment but knowingly and willingly used his own body to shield his patient.

Several soldiers he saved met for the first time on November 14th, 2006, at the rededication of the Joint Base San Antonio / Ft. Sam Houston Library to the KEITH A. CAMPBELL MEMORIAL LIBRARY in San Antonio, TX.

Campbell's actions clearly showed his passion for serving a cause greater than himself. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery next to three childhood friends. He is remembered on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, the Virginia War Memorial, the Delaware River Bay Authority Delaware Gold Star Families Memorial, and a paver placed prominently in front of "Iron Mike" at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum.