Two from World War I to get Medal of Honor
Source: CNN
(CNN)Nearly a century after their heroic efforts, two World War I veterans who may have been overlooked for the Medal of Honor because of their respective race and religion will receive the honor posthumously, the White House announced Thursday.
Pvt. William Henry Johnson, of the 369th Infantry Regiment's "Harlem Hellfighters," and Sgt. William Shemin, of the 4th Infantry Division, will receive the award from President Obama at a White House ceremony on June 2.
A Hellfighter from Harlem
Johnson, an African-American man from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who was living in New York before the war, is being cited for his actions near Saint Menehoul, France, on May 15, 1918. After suffering significant wounds during a surprise attack, he was still able to force a German retreat through hand-to-hand combat.
The then 21-year-old Johnson and his 369th Infantry Regiment were assigned to a French army command in 1918 because black soldiers were not allowed to serve in combat positions with white American units.
While on night sentry duty, Johnson and a fellow soldier, Pvt. Needham Roberts, were attacked by at least 12 German soldiers.
<snip>
Unshakeable Shemin
Shemin, a Jewish man from Bayonne, New Jersey, is being cited for his actions in France in August 1918. Shemin repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to rescue wounded troops, the Army said, and later, after his officers became casualties, the sergeant took command of his platoon, displayed initiative under fire and fought bravely until he was wounded by shrapnel and a machine-gun bullet.
Shemin graduated from the New York State Ranger School in 1914 and worked as a forester in Bayonne before enlisting in the Army on October 2, 1917.
Serving as a rifleman during the Aisne-Marne Offensive on August 7-9, 1918, Shemin left his trench, braving heavy machine gun and rifle fire, to rescue the wounded.
After his officers and senior noncommissioned officers were killed in the offensive, Shemin, just 19 years old, took command of the platoon until he was shot in the head and wounded by shrapnel.
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/15/politics/medal-of-honor/index.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
...but better to right a wrong late then to never right a wrong at all.
all that will make things right, I'm sure of it.
The 369th Infantry Regiment (Harlem Hellfighters) found acceptance, respect, and glory in France, eventually winning the Croix de Guerre, only to return to America and find Jim Crow laws alive and well.
I find it interesting that during WWll, the 93nd Division (including the 369th) adopted a unit shoulder patch depicting a blue Casque Adrien helmet (French Army helmet), a hat tip to their glory days, only to be relegated to scut work and mop up in the Pacific theater.
How in the fuck does this make things right?
