Word Celebrity Blog

George Lawson Keene


George Lawson Keene was born in Crockett, Texas, on September 21, 1898. He loved stories of history and heroes, especially as told by his grandfather, a veteran of the Confederate Army. His great-grandfather, Edward Keene, was a participant in the Texas Revolution.  His early ancestors settled in Kentucky, founding the renowned horse farm, “Keeneville”, where the original home was built in 1800. His mother, a great-niece of General Stonewall Jackson, died when he was three years old.

Lawson Keene, as he was known around Crockett, was proud of the coat-of-arms of his French Huguenot ancestors, and kept it at the home he and his wife, Dewey Kennedy Keene, built in Baytown, Texas.  The couple was married on Nov. 11, 1921.

He was a high school graduate at the age of 16, and had planned to enter Texas A&M College, his father’s alma mater; but, he decided that his duty was to his country when the U.S. entered WW I.  Realizing the courage and love of country that his boy had, the elder Keene gave his consent and Lawson went to San Antonio to enlist as a private. 

After much persuasion on his part, he was transferred to the 28th Infantry, American Expeditionary Force and sent overseas.  He was reputedly the first and youngest American combat soldier to set foot on French soil and one of the last to leave, serving in the Army of Occupation at the end of the war.

















Lawson Keene was stationed in the front lines for 26 months, three weeks and two days, taking part in five major engagements.  He was wounded several times and was gassed in the battle of the Argonne Forest.  After beginning the campaign on the western front with the 28th Infantry at Soissons and Cantigny, Keene was with the regiment when it routed the German infantry on the edge of Belleau Wood near Vaux, and also took part in the St. Mihiel Campaign of the First Division..



















Receiving the order to attack, many American soldiers fell before the devastating fire of the Germans, as they answered the call of “over the top”. 

When the officers who led the charges were killed, non-commissioned officers assumed command.  One of these was Sgt. George L. Keene.  Lawson Keene led the group across a creek, through barbed wire on the opposite bank.  After identifying his troops to American planes flying overhead, Keene yelled to his detail to rush the enemy  emplacements on the bluff ahead.  Keene lobbed a grenade into a German machine gun nest, killing and wounding many of the gunners.  When the weapon was silenced, the Americans charged the position.  A German officer, who was still alive, raised his pistol and aimed it at Lawson, but the sergeant knocked the gun to the ground with his rifle butt.  The German then surrendered to Keene, who found on  his prisoner many maps and diagrams which would be useful to the advancing American and French troops.




















As the battle continued, Lawson Keene noticed a wrecked tank nearby.  He dashed through a hail of bullets to the tank and salvaged the machine gun and ammunition, which he used to cover the advance of another platoon.  When ammunition ran low, Lawson remembered that there was more on the other side of the creek, so he returned for it, and continued to cover the American advance.  The tide of the battle turned and the Germans were in retreat.





















The following day, Sergeant Keene took command of the company after the lieutenant was wounded.  The company held its objective until relieved by the kilted Scottish Highlanders, the so-called “Ladies from Hell”.  This was the farthest advance made by American troops at that time.

By the next day, the Allies where in command of Soissons, an important railroad center.  The Soissons engagements were part of the Second Battle of the Marne, considered the turning point of World War I.


For his bravery and outstanding military service during the time he was in France, Lawson Keene received:

MEDALS AND COMMENTDATIONSSilver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster
Purple Heart
Distinguished Service Cross (1918)
The Congressional Medal of Honor (1940)
and many other American awards
Cross of Honor
French Croix de Guerre with Palm
Knights of Verdun
Tadac St. Mihiel
French Commemorative Medal

Two of the French decorations were awarded to him by Marshal Ferdinand Foch personally.

In 1940, the 76th Congress authorized President Roosevelt to present America’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, to Colonel George Lawson Keene.

Commendations came from General Charles P. Summerall, General John J. Pershing and Senator Tom Connally, Other letters in  his files are from Generals MacArthur and Buck; Presidents Wilson, Truman and Roosevelt, who awarded Keene a Certificate of Service; Governors Sterling, Allred, Jester and Shivers, and Congressman Albert Thomas.  The most prized letters were those from his army buddies.

Although he was considered the most-decorated American soldier of World War I, Lawson Keene was modest about his accomplishments. 

He was a member of the Legion of Valor, a service organization founded by Civil War veterans in 1890.  Membership requirements are the possession of the Medal of Honor or the Distinguished Service Cross. 

Copies of the original citations for Lawson Keene’s medals were placed in the Hall of Fame.


Medal Of Honor















Citation:

General Orders:
War Department, General Orders No. 5, 1937

George L. Keene

Place of Birth:
Crockett, Texas

Home of record:
Crockett, Texas

Action Date:
July 18 - 19, 1918

Service: Army

Rank: Corporal

Company:
Company K

Regiment:
28th Infantry Regiment

Division:
1st Division,
American Expeditionary Forces

Distinguished Service Cross (upgraded t Medal Of Honor - 1940)

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Corporal George L. Keene (ASN: 58296), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company K, 28th Infantry Regiment, 1st Division, A.E.F., near Soissons, France, July 18 - 19, 1918. Corporal Keene, then acting sergeant, rendered splendid assistance to his commanding officer in helping him to organize and lead a group of American and French Colonial soldiers against an enemy strong point located in a rock quarry on high ground.
During the attack, Corporal Keene was in command of the troops on the right flank, and in storming the position, he rushed forward at the head of his men, hurled a hand grenade in the trenches, subdued one of the most difficult posts of the enemy position and personally captured an officer on whom was found important maps of the enemy positions.

On the second day, Corporal Keene served in the capacity of an officer by commanding a company in the first wave of the attack formation and when his battalion commander became wounded he rendered valuable aid in assisting in maintaining control of formations until the objective was reached.

*****
     
For several years after the war, George Lawson Keene quietly took care of his business on downtown Texas Avenue, a jewelry store within Herring’s Drug Store in Baytown, Texas.

One of Lawson Keene’s favorite hobbies was directing plays for a community theater, using the Horace Mann Junior High auditorium stage. This group would be a foreshadowing of the Baytown Little Theater, which came years later.

Few people, except for his closest friends, knew that Lawson Keene had served in World War I, ranking right up there with the famous medal winner, Sgt. Alvin York. Although his combat story was every bit as dramatic as Sgt. York’s, most people just didn’t know about it. He never talked about his heroics on the fields of France, and Hollywood never made a movie about him.

And while some historians argue that Keene, instead of York, was the most decorated soldier in WWI, he never made an issue of it. He was a man who lived in the present, never dwelled on the past.

It wasn't until 1940, when it was announced that Lawson Keene was awarded the Metal of Honor, most Americanss first heard of Lawson Keene's heroics in WWI.

When World War II broke out, Lawson tried to re-enlist. Because of his age and his injuries suffered in the previous war, there was no way he could serve again.

The former Army sergeant could sit by and do nothing while his country was at war. He closed his jewelry business and went to work for the local General Tire and Rubber Co. plant, where synthetic rubber was being produced for the war effort.

Lawson Keene also served on the draft board, led civil defense activities, chaired the military affairs committee of the Goose Creek Chamber of Commerce and played a key role in obtaining the local National Guard Armory.

When he died, Lawson Keene was better known as a civic leader and rubber plant foreman than as a member of the Legion of Valor, an old and elite organization of veterans. To qualify, a member of the Legion of Valor must be the recipient of the Medal of Honor or the Distinguished Service Cross. Laeson Keene had both.

Sgt. Lawson Keene often remarked that his most prized possessions were the letters from his Army buddies.

There are two proud towns in Texas which lay claim to Sergeant Lawson Keene. The town of Crockett rightfully claims Sgt. Lawson Keene, but, the city of Baytown can also share in the pride, since Lawson Keene lived and worked there for nearly half his life.

Dr. C.H. Langford of the old Goose Creek Hospital on West Defee was one of Keene’s biggest fans, and he commissioned the painting of his portrait that is on display now in the courthouse in Crockett.

Sgt. Lawson Keene died on October 20, 1956, in Houston, Texas at the age of 58.

George Lawson Keene was buried at Earthman Memory Gardens, Baytown, Texas.