From “The Bulldozer” to a Marine
Born June 2, 1951 in San Antonio, Texas, Miguel Keith moved with his family to Omaha in 1965. He was known to his family and friends as “Mike”. The Keith family lived in North Omaha, where Mike attended McMillian Junior High, then North High School. Mike had a group of close friends, who talk about his quick smile, energy and respect for everybody. In December 1968, before finishing high school, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. Mike made it clear that he wanted to go to Vietnam. Because he was only 17 years old, Mike needed his mother’s permission to enlist. He joined as “Miguel Keith”, enlisted first the Marine Corps Reserve, and then the regular Marine corps on May 1, 1969.
Transforming into a Marine
When he arrived at Marine boot camp on May 2, 1969, Miguel quickly impressed fellow recruits with his energy, presence, and seriousness about his job. Fellow recruits say anything Miguel did, he did 100%.
After graduating from recruit training, Miguel became a Marine Private First Class and went to Basic Infantry Training Specialty, for machine gunner school, where he earned 100% on his gunner training. Miguel went to Combined Action program training (CAP School), then deployed to South Vietnam. Before heading to the Combined Action Platoons (CAPs) Miguel and other Marines learned everybody’s specialty so they could replace someone when necessary. They also learned cultural do’s and don’ts and some Vietnamese language to gain the support of the Vietnamese. Miguel was assigned as a rifleman with the 3rd Marine Amphibious Force, and was promoted to Lance Corporal.
The Combined Action Program
Near the end of the Vietnam War, the US Marine Corps introduced a program where Marines worked as a team with local village militias to protect rural villages. State CAP units lived in or near a village, to ward off the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army and keep them from receiving support from the villages. Roving CAP units travelled among two or more villages, and spent their nights in the fields, so the enemy wouldn’t know where they were.
The village militias were called Popular Forces (PFs), and were generally a platoon of boys and men who were too young to too old to fight in the Army of the Republic of Viet Nam. A CAP unit included a rifle squad about 13 Marines and a U.S. Navy Corpsman. The CAP units trained the PFs, provided some medical care, and helped around the village, in addition to conducting night patrols and security during the day. Marines volunteered to be part of a CAP unit, and CAP volunteers were highly motivated, idealistic, and cared about the Vietnamese people. Miguel was assigned to CAP unit 1-3-2, a static unit located in An Diem Village.