Sergeant William Shemin ’24, a graduate of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University was posthumously awarded a Medal of Honor today at the White House. The award was presented to Shemin’s two daughters, Ina Shemin-Bass ’53 and Elsie Shemin-Roth ’51.
The President relayed Shemin’s tale of saving three wounded fellow soldiers despite a barrage of machine-gun fire during his service in France during World War 1. Eventually, Shemin would assume command of his platoon following the death of the platoon’s senior leaders.
In his sentiments during the presentation, President Obama stated, “It has taken a long time for Henry Johnson and William Shemin to receive the recognition they deserve. And there are surely others whose heroism is still unacknowledged, and uncelebrated. So we have work to do, as a nation, to make sure that all of our heroes’ stories are told. And we’ll keep at it, no matter how long it takes. America’s the country we are today because of people like Henry and William. Americans who signed up to serve and rose to meet their responsibilities and then went beyond, the least we can do is to say we know who you are. We know what you did for us. We are forever grateful.”
The Medals of Honor were the 44th and 45th that President Obama has awarded.
View the Medal of Honor presentations at https://youtu.be/EusxvUrgKQg.