On August 23, 1945, he was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman in a White House ceremony.

[2] He earned a bachelor's degree and attended graduate school, and worked for the Veterans Administration for 22 years.

[4] Sergeant Neppel's official Medal of Honor citation reads as follows: He was leader of a machinegun squad defending an approach to the village of Birgel, Germany, on 14 December 1944, when an enemy tank, supported by 20 infantrymen, counterattacked.

The enemy armor continued to press forward and, at the pointblank range of 30 yards, fired a high-velocity shell into the American emplacement, wounding the entire squad.

Despite his injuries and the danger from the onrushing tank and infantry, he dragged himself back to his position on his elbows, remounted his gun and killed the remaining enemy riflemen.