In the 2002 movie "Hart's War," the commandant of a German POW camp mocks American prisoners for saluting a group of Russians who were hung for trying to escape the camp during the late stages of World War II.

"Those are dogs you're saluting, Colonel. Untermenschen (subhuman), animals," the Luftwaffe officer tells Army Col. William McNamara, played by Bruce Willis."My country doesn't make those kinds of distinctions, colonel," Willis replies. "They're our Allies."In recent years, Hollywood has done a commendable job with movies portraying the treatment and sacrifices of minority groups. In addition to "Hart's War," movies like "Glory" (1989), "Tuskegee Airmen" (1995), "Red Tails" (2012) and "Windtalkers" (2002) told the story of how groups like the blacks, Japanese Americans (Nisei) and Navajo answered the call to defend our nation and served with distinction in wartime.Recently in a White House ceremony, two World War I soldiers, one Jewish and one African-American, were honored for their bravery in battle when the president posthumously awarded Sgt. William Shemin and Pvt. Henry Johnson the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award.Sgt. Henry Lincoln Johnson served in the all-African-American 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the "Harlem Hellfighters." The regiment belonged to the largely black 93rd Division, which was among the first American forces to arrive in France. He received the Medal of Honor for fighting off a German raider force that had wounded him and a fellow sentry in the Argonne Forest.President Theodore Roosevelt called Johnson one of the "five bravest Americans" to serve in World War I, and his image was used on Victory War stamps and army recruiting materials. His discharge papers, however, did not state that he was wounded, and he received no disability pay after the war.He returned to his job as a railroad porter in Albany, New York, but because of his disability, he suffered with alcoholism and lived in poverty. He died in 1929 at the age of 32 and was reportedly buried in a pauper's grave.Shemin was 19 when his platoon was involved in heavy fighting on the western front. Amid a barrage of machine-gun fire and artillery shells, he repeatedly left the safety of the trenches to recover wounded soldiers. He was hit by shrapnel, and a bullet pierced his helmet, lodging behind his left ear.Shemin earned a degree from the New York State College and ran a landscaping business after the war. He died in 1973."Discrimination should never play a role when our country pays tribute to extraordinary acts of courage and selfless sacrifice," Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri said in a statement recognizing Shemin's heroism. "I couldn't be prouder that we were able to correct these past injustices, and that William Shemin and other Jewish heroes will get the recognition they deserve, and the national gratitude they earned."Well said, senator.By JIM ZBICKtneditor@tnonline.com