Roger Marsh, right, accepts his Army Commendation Medal from Lt. Col. Steven Petersen. Marsh’s wife Irmgard, center, was by his side during the ceremony, which took place Feb. 18 on campus.

With friends, family and co-workers gathered together, Roger Marsh, director of campus mail services, was awarded the Army Commendation Medal Feb. 18 in the Student Union Building.

Although more than 30 years have passed since Marsh’s service in the U.S. Army, he just now is receiving recognition for his dedication because the paperwork for the honor previously had been misplaced. However, with the help of Rep. Sam Graves, Marsh received sponsorship for a request to relocate his award.

Five years after the initial request, and after a long process of contacting old officers and filing various forms, Marsh got word that he would finally receive the medal. Having worked at Truman since 2006, he requested the ceremony take place on campus with the help of Truman’s ROTC.

After the presentation of a letter of recognition from Graves, Lt. Col. Steven Petersen gave remarks to those in attendance at the ceremony.

“This is not a favor, this is our duty,” Peterson said. “We are the Army we are today because of the generation before us. Because of the battles they fought for us, we are able to be that much better.”

Following Petersen’s speech, Marsh received the Army Commendation Medal. At the end of the ceremony, he addressed the crowd with gratitude.

“I want to thank everyone who has been involved in my success,” Marsh said. “It was teamwork—always was a team effort and always will be.”