Historical records matching Sgt. William Shemin, Medal of Honor
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About Sgt. William Shemin, Medal of Honor
Biography and Medal of Honor Citation on United States Army website
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KQMZ-F3D
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/black-jewish-wwi-vets-finally-g...
Shemin, a Jewish sergeant who lied about his age in order to serve, eventually led a platoon in battle where for three days he raced across the battlefield and repeatedly dodged gunfire as he pulled injured comrades to safety.
Shemin's daughter, Elsie Shemin-Roth of suburban St. Louis, worked for years to gather documents in support of the bid for her father and accepted the award from Obama on his behalf. In the early 2000s, she learned of a law that reviewed cases of Jews who may have been denied medals they earned in World War II and fought for passage of a law to provide similar review for Jewish World War I veterans, according to the Associated Press.
"This was anti-Semitism, no question about it," Shemin-Roth, who is in her 80s, said in an interview in December when Congress passed the exemption for her father, who died in 1973. "Now a wrong has been made right and all is forgiven."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/03/us/two-world-war-i-soldiers-to-po...
Sergeant Shemin survived, then earned a degree from the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University and started a landscaping business. He died in 1973 after raising three children. The medal was awarded at the urging of Jewish organizations.
http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/shemin/?from=hp_spotlight
William Shemin was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, Oct. 14, 1896. During his teenage years, Shemin played semi-pro baseball. He graduated from the New York State Ranger School in 1914, and went on to work as a forester in Bayonne. After the United States entered World War I, Shemin enlisted in the Army, Oct. 2, 1917. Upon completion of basic training at Camp Greene, North Carolina, he was assigned as a rifleman to Company G, 47th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, American Expeditionary Forces, in France.
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Sgt. William Shemin, Medal of Honor's Timeline
| 1896 |
October 14, 1896
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New York, New York, New York, United States
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| 1930 |
November 23, 1930
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New York, New York, United States
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| 1973 |
August 15, 1973
Age 76
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Greenwich, Connecticut
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| ???? |
Baron Hirsch Cemetery, Staten Island, NY, United States
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