U.S. Army Master Sgt. Roderick (“Roddie”) Edmonds, who saved roughly 200 Jewish American soldiers from certain death during World War II and is the only U.S. soldier recognized by Yad Vashem as one of the “Righteous Among the Nations,” was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony on Monday.
Edmonds’ son, Pastor Chris Edmonds, accepted the medal on his father’s behalf. U.S. President Donald Trump presented the award and shook his hand as the audience, including family members, other medal recipients, Cabinet officials and lawmakers, stood and applauded.
“Today, your father gets the honor he so courageously merited,” Trump said, outlining Edmonds’ wartime actions.
Chris Edmonds told JNS that the experience of meeting the president and seeing his father honored was “surreal.”
“It’s almost like a dream we were dropped into the middle of and then whisked out,” he said.
“He was always a great father,” he said. “Everybody loved him, and he loved everybody. I guess that’s the best way to describe him. But he took it to a whole other level when I discovered this story.”
“I just wish he’d have been around to accept the medal himself,” Chris Edmonds said of his father, who died in 1985.
‘We are all Jews here’
The elder Edmonds was among the more than 1,200 American troops captured during the Battle of the Bulge and sent to Stalag IX-A, a German prisoner of war camp, in January 1945.
On the evening of Jan. 26, 1945, the Germans ordered that only Jewish American prisoners report for roll call the next morning, under threat of execution.
As the senior non-commissioned officer, Edmonds was aware of the danger facing those soldiers. He ordered every American POW to report for roll call, helping conceal the identity of the 200-plus Jewish prisoners. He cited the Geneva Convention, which required him to disclose only names, ranks and serial numbers.
Edmonds refused to back down even when the commandant pressed his gun against his head and demanded he give up the Jewish service members.
“We are all Jews here,” Edmonds replied. The Nazi officer eventually lowered his weapon and returned to his office.
In March 1945, as Allied forces approached, the camp commandant ordered the prisoners to assemble for evacuation. Once they were outside and with transports arriving, Edmonds led the men back into the barracks, ensuring they remained behind and out of German hands.
“Really amazing,” Trump said. “It’s an amazing story.”
Chris Edmonds told JNS he had pursued the Medal of Honor for his father since learning the full story from Lester Tanner, a fellow POW.
“When the Nazi commander approached and threatened Dad, Lester was there,” Edmonds said. “He heard everything, and he shared the story with me in 2013, in New York City, and at the end of sharing the story, he looked at me and said, ‘Your father’s deserving of the Medal of Honor. You should go back and talk to your congressman and see what he thinks.’ And so we began.”
“It’s been a 13-year journey, and we’re so grateful that, in God’s timing, it’s taken place,” he added.
‘Highest standard of bravery’
Nineteen members of Edmonds’ family traveled to Washington and met Trump before the ceremony.
“None of us had ever been to the White House,” he told JNS. “We were ushered into the White House to meet the president, and he met with us in a private meeting before the actual larger ceremony, and that was really special for my children and grandchildren.”
Edmonds was recognized by Yad Vashem in Jerusalem in February 2015 as one of the “Righteous Among the Nations,” non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. He was just the fifth American and first U.S. soldier so honored.
Stanlee Stahl, executive vice president of the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, attended the ceremony and stated that the award “affirms what the survivors of Stalag IX-A have long known: his actions represent the highest standard of bravery, humanity and responsibility.”
On Tuesday, Edmonds is also set to be inducted into the Hall of Heroes at the Pentagon.
‘Speaks to the American heart’
Reflecting on Monday’s ceremony, Chris Edmonds told JNS his father would have been humbled.
“He would certainly feel greatly honored, but he would say, ‘I’m not a hero. I was just doing my job, and I came home safe, and I lived a full, meaningful life. So, the boys that are the real heroes are the ones that were buried over there that helped save me,’” he said.
“That would be his thoughts on it, and largely I would agree with him, because the men who have given their full measure of sacrifice are truly the heroes,” Edmonds told JNS. “The Medal of Honor is even bigger than Dad or even the men and ladies who have received it over the years. He really speaks to the American heart and the character of our nation, people who have the courage to go to the greatest degree to help save others.”
Also honored on Monday were Command Sgt. Maj. Terry Richardson, a Vietnam War platoon leader who continued directing airstrikes in 1968 while wounded; and the late Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, who sacrificed his life in Afghanistan in 2013 to protect a Polish soldier fighting alongside him.
