--- title: "A World War II POW who defied Nazis to protect Jewish soldiers will receive the Medal of Honor" date: "2026-02-20" modified: "2026-02-20" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/history/roddie-edmonds-medal-of-honor/" categories: - "Army" - "Heroes" - "History" - "Medal of Honor" - "War History" - "World War II" tags: - "Army" - "Medal of Honor" - "Military History" - "Quick Hits" - "World War II" --- # A World War II POW who defied Nazis to protect Jewish soldiers will receive the Medal of Honor ![roderick roddie edmonds medal of honor army photo]() *The family of Master Sgt. Roderick "Roddie" Edmonds will receive the honor in March 2026.* A soldier who risked his life to protect hundreds of Jewish-American prisoners of war during World War II will posthumously [receive the Medal of Honor]() more than 40 years after his death. Master Sgt. Roderick "Roddie" Edmonds will be honored at a White House ceremony on Mar. 2, 2026. The recognition comes 80 years after Edmonds defied Nazi orders at a German POW camp to prevent the identification and potential execution of Jewish soldiers under his command. **Read: Israel honors US soldier who defied Nazi captors: ‘We are all Jews here’** Born in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1919, Edmonds enlisted in the Army in 1941 at age 22. He was captured by the Germans on Dec. 19, 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge and subsequently imprisoned at Stalag IX-A near Ziegenhain, Germany. There, he became the senior noncommissioned officer overseeing 1,292 American prisoners. On Jan. 27, 1945, the camp commandant ordered Edmonds to identify which soldiers were Jewish for separate assembly. Edmonds refused. He ordered *all* his men, Jewish and non-Jewish, to stand outside their barracks. When a German officer pointed a pistol at him and shouted, "They cannot all be Jews." "We are all Jews here," Edmonds shot back. “Major, you can shoot me, you can shoot all of us, but we know who you are,” Lester Tannenbaum, a Jewish NCO who stood beside him during the confrontation, [told Task & Purpose](). “This war is almost over, and you’ll be a war criminal.” The German officer backed down. The American NCO's defiance saved around 200 to 300 Jewish-American soldiers. He never spoke of the incident after the war, instead taking the story to his grave. His family learned of his actions only in 2013, nearly three decades after his death. "All we knew was that he fought in World War II, in the Battle of the Bulge, and came home," said his son, Chris Edmonds. "He wouldn't talk about it." In 2015, Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, [recognized Edmonds]() as "Righteous Among the Nations,"an honor bestowed on non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. He became the first U.S. soldier and one of only five Americans to receive the distinction. After the war, Edmonds continued his military service during the Korean War, serving with the 1st Cavalry Division and earning the Combat Infantryman Badge. [He later worked]() in journalism, mobile homes, and cable television in Knoxville. He died in 1985 at age 65. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()