Medal of Honor Monday: Army Sgt. William Shemin

Army Sgt. William Shemin, a rifleman, posthumously received the Medal of Honor in 2015 for extraordinary heroism during World War I combat operations in France.

Shemin was born Oct. 14, 1896, in New York City. Soon after his birth, the family moved to Bayonne, New Jersey. He was born to Russian Jewish immigrants Harris and Bessie Shemin. He had one sibling, a sister named Minnie.

He went to high school in Bayonne and after graduating attended a training class with the New York State College of Forestry. After finishing the course, he returned home to work as an assistant city forester.

Shemin enlisted in the New York National Guard in 1916 and then registered for the draft in June 1917 after the U.S. declared war on Germany. However, the minimum age to be selected for military service at the time was 21.

He enlisted in the Army in October 1917 and attended basic training at Camp Greene, North Carolina. He was assigned to the 47th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, and, along with thousands of other soldiers, departed for Europe.

The regiment joined the Aisne-Marne Offensive in northeast France in the summer of 1918, helping the Allies score an important victory at the Second Battle of the Marne, pushing the German force farther north before digging in for another round of fighting along the Vesle river.

In August 1918, the Allied forces fell under heavy artillery and machine-gun fire. Seeing his comrades in trouble, Shemin left cover, exposing himself to enemy fire, and ran 150 yards into open ground three times to retrieve wounded soldiers, even after getting hit by shrapnel.

With his leadership all killed or injured, Shemin took command of the unit. According to his Medal of Honor citation, he displayed great initiative under fire and, despite being wounded, refused evacuation for medical treatment until all of his men were safe.

He was found unconscious the next day and taken to a nearby field hospital. He was hospitalized for three months and later received light duty until his tour in Europe ended.

He was honorably discharged from the Army in August 1919, after being awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for battlefield valor.

After leaving the service, he used his veteran’s benefits and attended college at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, graduating with a bachelor of science degree in 1923. He played lacrosse and football while at the university.

He married Bertha Schiffer in 1928, and they had three children, two daughters and a son. His son served in the armed forces during the Korean War.

After college, he started the Ivy Floral and Landscape Company in the New York City. In 1955, his son took over the company, renaming it Shemin Nurseries and moving it to Greenwich, Connecticut.

He died in 1973 and was buried at the Baron Hirsch Cemetery in New York City. His wife died in 1993 and was buried alongside him. His Distinguished Service Cross was later upgraded to the Medal of Honor and presented to his daughters by President Barack Obama in a White House ceremony, June 2, 2015. During the same ceremony, Obama presented a posthumous Medal of Honor to Army Pvt. Henry Johnson.

“It has taken a long time for Henry Johnson and William Shemin to receive the recognition they deserve,” the president said, speaking about both men who served on the battlefields of France and risked their lives to save others.

They both left us decades ago, before we could give them the full recognition that they deserved, but it is never too late to say thank you, Obama said, adding the country is what it is because of people like them.

“The least we can do is to say: We know who you are. We know what you did for us. We are forever grateful.”

Shemin repeatedly ventured out of the trenches into the open field to rescue wounded comrades. The open space separating the Allies from the Germans was a “bloodbath.”

“Soldier after soldier ventured out, and soldier after soldier was mowed down,” Obama said. “Those still in the trenches were left with a terrible choice: die trying to rescue your fellow soldier, or watch him die, knowing that part of you will die along with him.”

Shemin served at a time when the contributions and heroism of Jewish people in uniform were too often overlooked, the president continued.

“William Shemin saved American lives. He represented our nation with honor, and so it is my privilege, on behalf of the American people, to make this right and finally award the Medal of Honor to Sgt. William Shemin,” he said.

Shemin was a wonderful, hardworking, generous man who loved serving his country, said his daughter, Elsie Shemin-Roth, in an interview a week before the ceremony. He had high expectations for his three children and 14 grandchildren.

“He told us all to always do more than you are asked,” she said, adding that he taught the entire family how to properly salute and fold a flag.

While he couldn’t sleep well at night, had painful wounds from the war and shrapnel in his back, was deaf in one ear, and had post-traumatic stress disorder, he still had the “most wonderful sense of humor,” she said.

“He directed our lives to be good, productive Jewish American citizens,” she said. “We all loved him dearly. But we also know that he’d been through much too much.”

His name continues to be remembered across the country. The Shemin Fitness Center at Fort Carson, Colorado, was named for him, as was the William Shemin Midtown Community School in Bayonne. Syracuse University has a Hall of Honor plaque for him.

This article is part of a weekly series called “Medal of Honor Monday,” in which we highlight one of the more than 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients who have received the U.S. military’s highest medal for valor.