William G. Keller

He left the line to rescue wounded men under heavy gun fire.

William G. Keller was born at Buffalo, New York, on 19 April 1876. He entered the United States Army and served in Company F of the 10th Infantry during the Spanish-American War. His unit formed part of the American expedition sent to Cuba in 1898, where the army advanced against the Spanish defences surrounding Santiago.

On 1 July, during the fighting for the heights overlooking the city, soldiers wounded ahead of the American line remained exposed to Spanish fire. Keller helped bring them back. The work required him to go beyond the comparative protection of his own troops and assist casualties while the enemy continued shooting.

His official Medal of Honor citation specifically recognizes the rescue of wounded men in front of the lines under heavy fire (Congressional Medal of Honor Society, https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/william-g-keller). It describes a lifesaving act during the battle, rather than claiming that he captured a particular position or commanded an assault. Four other Company F soldiers, Charles Cantrell, Andrew Cummins, James Nash and Alfred Polond, also received the medal for their conduct that day.

Keller's award was issued on 22 June 1899. He had been a private during the action and subsequently attained the rank of corporal. He survived the war and lived for another sixty-five years. His later life took him to Florida, where he died at Sarasota on 20 September 1963, aged eighty-seven. He was buried in Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio, in section 44, lot 729. His record preserves an infantryman's willingness to risk his own life for wounded comrades during the campaign at Santiago.