Technical Sgt. Forrest Lee Vosler officially became a member of the Syracuse University Class of 2015 on Friday — 23 years after his death in February 1992.

Then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt awarded Vosler the Medal of Honor in the Oval Office for his heroic efforts during World War II. However, Vosler was unable to complete his baccalaureate degree at SU due to the injuries he sustained during his service.

After doing extensive research through the SU Archives and pulling Vosler’s transcripts, Patrick Jones, director of veteran enrollment practice at the university, discovered that Vosler had completed all of the requirements to earn an Associate of Arts degree from SU.

Chancellor Kent Syverud, Vice Chancellor for Veterans and Military Affairs Mike Haynie and College of Arts and Sciences Dean Karin Ruhlandt presented the degree to Vosler’s son, Steve, who accepted the degree on his father’s behalf, in a ceremony on Friday at the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs.

“I think that if he were here today, he would be deeply humbled and he would say, ‘I really don’t deserve this,’” Steve said in an interview after the ceremony.

During his service in the war, Vosler’s plane was shot down, causing him to suffer serious injuries to his eyes, legs and arms. Despite these injuries, Vosler was still able to tend to the wounded tail gunner, repair the damaged radio equipment and send a distress signal before the plane crashed into the North Sea.

Jones, along with several others at SU, worked with Syverud so that Vosler could be properly recognized for his achievements at the university.

After evaluating Vosler’s transcript, Jones said in an interview after the ceremony that the decision to award him with a degree went through the same process as it would for someone earning a degree today.

Steve said his father struggled with his disabilities, but he overcame them and provided well for his family. He added that he also set a good example in his community.

Vosler dropped in and out of school for 17 years while trying to earn his degree from SU. However, his disabilities ultimately prevented him from obtaining his degree.

Steve said he remembers his father studying at the dining room table during his childhood because that’s where the lighting was best.

During the ceremony, which lasted about 20 minutes, Syverud emphasized the importance in recognizing that Vosler’s degree was not an honorary degree — it is an earned degree.

Syverud added that this ceremony is a big deal for SU because the university does not compromise requirements for its degrees.

“It is extremely unusual this much later to confer a degree, and it required careful historical research and painstaking documentation to make sure that every requirement had been met and every ‘I’ had been dotted and every ‘T’ had been crossed,” Syverud said.

Syverud said Vosler’s story will be told on the SU campus to hopefully inspire those in the SU community.

Vosler was recognized as the Hometown Hero during Saturday’s football game against Clemson University.

Published on November 13, 2015 at 7:28 pm

Contact Sara: smswann@syr.edu | @saramswann