Sgt. William Shemin was a hero in WWI but anti-Semitism in the US may have blocked the Jewish soldier’s his receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor – until now.
The United States Congress has passed a bill, originally called the "William Shemin Jewish World War I Veterans Act," which allows for the review of military service records of Jewish American soldiers who previously were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross but not the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration in the United States. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill into law shortly.
Shemin’s daughter, Missouri resident Elsie Shemin-Roth, has worked for years to correct was she thinks was an act of discrimination. With passage of the law, she said, “A wrong has been made right…. I only wish my father was here today to witness this.”
Shemin was the son of a Russian immigrant to the United States when he volunteered to fight in the First World War. In a fierce battle in rural France, with his commanders having been killed or seriously wounded, he dashed between the trenches to rescue wounded comrades. His daring act cost him a bullet wound in the head, causing him lifelong hearing problems and trauma.
"He distinguished himself by excellent control of his platoon at every stage of the action and by the thoroughness at great personal danger at which he evacuated the wounded," according to the battle report submitted three months later by the division commander.
Shemin was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest U.S. military decoration, but his daughter said that he and others felt he was denied the Medal of Honor because he was Jewish.
"He never dwelled on it, but it was very much there,'' Shemin-Roth told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "He was very happy with the Distinguished Service Cross, but he knew what he did and he knew there was a lot of anti-Semitism in that era, especially towards him. He just let it go."
"It is important that Jewish Americans like Sergeant Shemin have the opportunity to be recognized for their acts of bravery in defense of our nation," said the bill’s sponsor, Missouri Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer.
The United States has awarded 464 Medals of Honors for World War II heroes, but only three of the recipients were Jewish although approximately half-million Jews served in World War II.
Similar, only three Jews received the Medal of Honor for actions in World War I.