Elsie Shemin-Roth flips through a book documenting the heroic acts of her father, William Shemin, during World War I, at her home in Labadie, Mo. Two World War I Army heroes, Shemin and Pvt. Henry Johnson are finally getting the Medal of Honor they may have been denied because of discrimination, nearly 100 years after bravely rescuing comrades on the battlefields of France. President Barack Obama plans to posthumously bestow the nation's highest military honor on both men for their actions in 1918 during a White House ceremony.

WASHINGTON — Two World War I Army heroes — one black, one Jewish — are finally getting the Medal of Honor they may have been denied because of discrimination, nearly 100 years after bravely rescuing comrades on the battlefields of France.

Sgt. William Shemin repeatedly dodged gunfire to pull wounded comrades to safety during three days of bloody battle. And Pvt. Henry Johnson rescued a wounded comrade from his all-black regiment while single-handedly fighting off a surprise German attack.

President Barack Obama plans to posthumously bestow the nation's highest military honor on both men for their actions in 1918 during a White House ceremony today. The award comes after tireless efforts by advocates for the two men led Congress to pass an exemption from Medal of Honor rules specifying that heroic actions have to have taken place within five years to be considered.

Shemin's daughter, Elsie Shemin-Roth of suburban St. Louis, worked for years to gather documents in support of the bid for her father and plans to accept the award from Obama on his behalf.

“This was anti-Semitism, no question about it,” Shemin-Roth, who is in her 80s, said in an interview in December when Congress passed the exemption for her father, who died in 1973. “Now a wrong has been made right and all is forgiven.”Johnson supporters pushed for the Medal of Honor for decades — with New York Sen. Chuck Schumer taking up the case and initially rebuffed for lack of documentation. His staff picked up the case again years later when a trove of military records became available online, including a communiqué from Gen. John Pershing describing his brave acts on night sentry duty on May 15, 1918.Hobbled by his wartime injuries, Johnson died a destitute alcoholic at age 32 at a veterans hospital in Illinois in 1929. New York National Guard Command Sgt. Maj. Louis Wilson planned to accept the medal on Johnson's behalf.

A statue of Pvt. Henry Johnson is displayed in the Arbor Hill neighborhood in Albany, N.Y. Johnson and Sgt. William Shemin are finally getting the Medal of Honor.