More than 80 years after he worked tirelessly to save more than 200 fellow soldiers on D-Day, Staff Sgt. Waverly Woodson was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

The presentation of the nation’s second-highest award for valor at the U.S. Capitol was the culmination of years of work to ensure Woodson, an African American Army medic, was properly recognized for his actions during World War II.

“This day has been a long time coming,” said Lt. Gen. Mark Landes, commanding general of First Army. “I’m the fourth First Army commander that has assisted with this upgrade effort.”

Even though more than 80 years have passed, Woodson “embodies the greatest legacy of our Army, ordinary Americans who become extraordinary … at precisely the moment our nation needed them,” Landes said. “This is a legacy that will no longer go unsung.”

Landing on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, then-Cpl. Woodson ignored his own wounds and worked for more than 30 hours under enemy fire to treat more than 200 soldiers before collapsing from pain and blood loss. Just 21, Woodson was a member of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, the only Black combat unit to participate in the D-Day landings.

Woodson survived the war and earned the rank of staff sergeant before leaving the Army. He later studied medical technology and worked for 28 years at the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and the National Institutes of Health, according to the Army.

He died in 2005.

The award comes after a yearslong effort by First Army and the office of Sen. Chris Van Hollen to properly recognized Woodson for his actions. Records show that Woodson was nominated for but did not receive the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor, according to the Army.

An investigation into Woodson’s service revealed that he did not receive a valor award at the time because of racism, infighting among Army combat leaders and lost and destroyed wartime records, the Army said in a news release.

In 2023, he posthumously received the Bronze Star and Combat Medic Badge, according to the Army.

This year, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth authorized the Distinguished Service Cross for Woodson just days before the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Soldiers from First Army who traveled to France for 80th anniversary commemoration events took with them a World War II-era Distinguished Service Cross. They conducted a ceremony where they placed the medal in the sands of Omaha Beach at the very spot where Woodson had set up his first aid station and saved so many lives, the Army said in the news release.

On Sept. 24, the medal was presented to Woodson’s widow, Joann.

Now 95, Joann Woodson has fought for decades to see her husband properly recognized for his valor.

Capt. Kevin Braafladt, First Army’s historian, has spent hundreds of hours researching Woodson’s actions on D-Day. Woodson’s story is highlighted in the book, Forgotten: The Untold Story of D-Day’s Black Heroes, at Home and at War, and more than a dozen members of Congress supported efforts to award him the Medal of Honor, the Army said in the news release.