Eighteen years after graduating from Hofstra University, a decorated war veteran has returned to Hempstead, N.Y., to claim the school’s Veteran Alumni of the Year award.

Major Adam S. Roth, the operations chief for the 412th Engineer Command in Vicksburg, was honored during a ceremony at the school Nov. 6. A plaque and an American flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol days earlier were given to him.

&#8220This award is given every year to one or two individuals who have distinguished themselves militarily,” Roth said. &#8220It was a great day for the ENCOM and the Army Reserve.”

The 39-year-old Bronx native, in a military career that spans 17 years, has collected 12 medals and other decorations. He has served stateside and overseas, including in Iraq, where he was executive officer of the 458th Engineer Battalion in a yearlong deployment.

Roth speaks highly of Hofstra, near New York City, where he received a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering in 1987. He regularly travels to Hempstead to give back to the school that helped him achieve so much.

&#8220Hofstra University has a very robust veterans’ organization,” he said. &#8220I am very active in the Pershing Rifles Fraternity. I help them out on training on pledge weekends and on social events as well.”

Pershing Rifles is a nationally recognized military fraternity with over 1,000 chapters in the United States, Roth said.

After receiving his commission in the U.S. Army from Hofstra’s ROTC program in 1987, Roth began serving in the Army Reserve. For 10 years, he was stationed in Germany in various roles before returning to New York in 1998 to serve as commander of the 306th Engineer Company in Amityville.

&#8220I served active duty in Germany for four years, but stayed there for 10 years,” Roth said. &#8220That’s where I started in the fire service.”

In New York, Roth was a volunteer firefighter with Oceanside Fire Department on Sept. 11, 2001. Two days later, he and other firefighters went to Manhattan.

&#8220As a result of the attack on the World Trade Center, I assisted with rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero with FDNY Rescue Company No. 3,” he said. &#8220At that point, I realized it was time to go back into the military full time.”

That’s exactly what the veteran did. For three years, he served with the 458th Engineer Battalion in Johnstown, Penn., during which he led emergency operations in Iraq in support of the Army’s 1st Calvary Division.

&#8220We had a mission – Task Force Iron Claw – that was 24 hours a day and seven days a week for the entire year we were there,” Roth said. &#8220One-hundred seventy-one IEDs (improvised explosive devices) were taken off the streets of Baghdad. We emplaced barriers and fortifications to make soldiers and the Iraqi people safer.”

When Roth’s tour ended and he returned to the United States in March, he was assigned to the 412th Engineer Command. He also chose to continue volunteering as a firefighter and joined the Culkin Volunteer Fire Department.

He praised people who serve their communities and country.

&#8220The most important thing about all this is the volunteerism I see throughout the United States,” Roth said. &#8220In the time when people’s schedules become more and more packed with work and extracurricular activities and they still find the time to volunteer in their communities … those are the true heroes to me. Volunteerism is alive in the South, and I’m honored to be a part of it.”

The 412th Engineer Command is one of only two engineer commands in the U.S. Army Reserve. Its missions are in the United States, Korea and Europe with three forward-deployed elements in Korea, Germany and Hawaii.