An American soldier credited with saving hundreds of Jewish lives during the Second World War is to be posthumously recognised with a Medal of Honour, the most prestigious military decoration awarded by the US government.
Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds was captured along with his unit in 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge. Taken to Stalag IXA, a camp near Ziegenhain, Germany, Edmonds, who was held captive for 100 days, was ordered by a Nazi officer to line up more than 1,200 American troops in the camp and to have Jewish soldiers to fall out separately. Instead, Edmonds, a Christian, instructed all the prisoners of war – Jews and non-Jews alike – to stand together, telling them: “We are all Jews here.”
The Nazi officer took out his pistol and threatened Edmonds but the soldier did not capitulate, according to witness accounts, instead citing the Geneva Convention: “We have to give only our name, rank, and serial number. If you shoot me, you will have to shoot all of us, and after the war you will be tried for war crimes.”
The Nazi then lowered his pistol, turned around, and left the scene, according to Yad Vashem, which subsequently spoke to witnesses who recalled the incident.
It is believed that his act of solidarity saved some 200 Jews but it was not until decades after his death in 1985, aged 65, that his courageous decision came to light.
In 2008, nearly a quarter of a century after Edmonds died, an unrelated story about a Jewish man named Lester Tanner selling a townhouse to former US President Richard Nixon was published in the New York Times. Tanner was a solider in Edmonds’ unit and a passing mention of Edmonds and his stand against the Nazis caught the attention of his son, Chris Edmonds.
The pair made contact and Tanner told Chris Edmonds of how his father had saved the lives of the Jewish POWs.
In 2015, Yad Vashem posthumously recognised Roddie Edmonds as Righteous Among the Nations, saying at the time: “Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds seemed like an ordinary American soldier, but he had an extraordinary sense of responsibility and dedication to his fellow human beings.
"These attributes form the common thread that binds members of this select group of Righteous Among the Nations. The choices and actions of Master Sergeant Edmonds set an example for his fellow American soldiers as they stood united against the barbaric evil of the Nazis.”
Former US President Barack Obama said of Edmond’s heroism during a ceremony in 2016 to mark Holocaust Memorial Day: “I cannot imagine a greater expression of Christianity than to say, I, too, am a Jew.”
US President Donald Trump, who in 2019 also commented on Edmonds’ heroism at a Veteran’s Day Parade in New York City, will give the Medal of Honour to Chris Edmonds at the White House on March 2.
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