U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03) issued the following statement after attending the White House Medal of Honor Ceremony for Sergeant William Shemin:

“This morning I was proud to be in the room and watch, Elsie Shemin-Roth, formerly of Labadie, Missouri, receive the Medal of Honor on behalf of her father. Elsie and I were on a long and winding journey together and even after five years, we never gave up hope. Today was five years in the making and it was a true honor to watch Elsie stand next to the President of the United States and accept the highest honor for her father’s courageous and selfless acts of valor during World War I.”

Sergeant Shemin passed away in 1973, but his daughter, Shemin-Roth, a constituent of Luetkemeyer’s, has worked on behalf of her father’s military legacy. After meeting with Shemin-Roth, Luetkemeyer secured passage of language in the Fiscal Year 2012 NDAA that provides for reviews of the service records of Jewish World War I veterans who may not have received the awards they deserved for extraordinary acts of military service, due to discrimination at the time. Since then, the Pentagon has completed a review of Sergeant Shemin’s records connected to Sergeant Shemin’s service, and, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel recommended the president should posthumously award Sergeant Shemin the Medal of Honor. After that announcement, Luetkemeyer continuously urged the administration to swiftly make a positive, final recommendation. On May 14, the president officially announced he would posthumously award Sergeant Shemin the Medal of Honor.