This week's hero is...
Roddie Edmonds
MSGT. Roddie Edmonds was born on August 21, 1919 in South Knoxville, Tennessee. He enlisted in 422nd Infantry Regiment during World War II and saw combat in the Normandy Invasion and the Liberation of France. During the Battle of the Bulge, Edmonds and much of his comrades were captured by the German army. Edmonds along with 1,000 other POW's were then taken to Stalag IXA (a POW camp) near Zieganhain, Germany. It was there that he would be tested in a way that he had never prepared for.
On the first day of arrival in the camp, the German SS in the camp camp and made a terrifying announcement. All of the American POWs who were Jewish to assemble in front of their barracks the following morning. In keeping with their hunt for Jews, the Nazis often tried to identify and separate them from the other Allied POWs. Since Edmonds was the highest ranking enlisted man in the camp, many prisoners turned to him for leadership. Although neither he nor the other prisoners knew about the Holocaust at the time, Edmonds was not willing to allow some of his comrades to be targeted due to their religion. He quickly came up with a plan.
The next morning, Sergeant Edmonds ordered all 1,275 prisoners (Jews included) to assemble in front of the barracks. The German SS arrived shortly after the prisoners had all lined up. The commander of the camp was among them. He immediately approached Edmonds and demanded that the latter command the Jewish men to step forward. Roddie Edmonds replied, "We are all Jews". The German commander grew furious and threatened to shoot Edmonds if he did not comply. Sergeant Edmonds quoted the Geneva code. He also reminded the commander that Germany was losing the war and he would be tried for war crimes if he killed Edmonds or any of the other prisoners. After being told this, the furious commander backed off and the SS left the camp. After this, Roddie Edmonds and his fellow POWs spent at least five more months in captivity until Germany's surrender in May 1945. Of the 1,275 American prisoners of war at Stalag IXA, it is estimated that at least 200 were Jewish.
Roddie Edmonds returned home to Tennessee after World War II. After serving in the Korean War, he retired from the military and raised a family. He died on August 8, 1985. He had never sought recognition for his heroism nor did he mentioned it to any of his family. It was not until 2009, that Roddie Edmonds finally received recognition for his heroism at Stalag IXA after his son (Rev. Chris Edmonds) got in contact with some of his father's fellow POWs. On February 10, 2015 Sergeant Roddie Edmonds was posthumously recognized as Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vasham. He is the first and only American soldier to receive such an honor.
Roddie Edmond's act of defiance was one of the bravest and least known acts of courage in the history of the American experience of World War II. Like many other brave soldiers, he was dedicated to protecting his comrades even at a risk of his own life. He stood face to face with some of the most evil people of the century and called their bluff. I believe that he is one of the bravest unsung heroes of World War II. He is definitely someone who deserves our admiration.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/world/middleeast/obama-honor-americans-effort-to-save-jews-the-holocaust.html
http://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/stories/edmonds.html
http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/21/europe/us-pow-holocaust-hero/index.html
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-honors-us-gi-who-told-the-nazis-we-are-all-jews/
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