A 1924 Syracuse University alumnus will be awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously by President Barack Obama on June 2 in a White House ceremony for his service during World War I.

William Shemin will receive the Medal of Honor — the nation’s highest military decoration for valor — for his actions while serving as a member of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, 4th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, according to a White House press release. He is the first SU graduate known to have earned the Medal of Honor.

Shemin will be recognized for his actions on Aug. 7-9, 1918, during combat operations near Vesle River, Bazoches, France. During those combat missions, Shemin left the cover of his platoon’s trench and crossed open space, repeatedly exposing himself to heavy machine gun and rifle fire to rescue wounded soldiers, according to the White House release. After officers and senior non-commissioned officers died, he took command of the platoon until he was wounded, according to the release.

Shemin’s daughter, Elise Shemin-Roth, a Class of 1951 SU alumnus, whose determination ensured her father would receive this award — four decades after his death in 1973 — will accept the medal in her father’s honor, according to an SU News release.

Shemin’s daughter suspected he never received the Medal of Honor until now because at the time he deserved it, discrimination against Jewish people was still rampant throughout the U.S. military, according to a Jan. 10, 2012 Associated Press article.

Shemin joined the Army in October 1917 and as a rifleman was stationed briefly in Syracuse before being deployed to France. When Shemin returned to the U.S. in 1919, he continued to pursue his studies at SU, graduating in 1924. Shemin was also a member of the SU football and lacrosse teams, according to the SU News release.