An American GI who saved more than 200 Jewish-American prisoners-of-war from near certain death was an unsung hero for more than half a century before the world heard about his incredible act of heroism.
Newsweek reports the most remarkable part of the story of Master Sergeant Roderick “Roddie” Edmonds, wasn’t his courage or the lives he saved.
It was his humility. The source of that humility and courage was his faith in God.
Roddie Edmonds never told anyone about what he did.
HUMBLE HERO’S INCREDIBLE COURAGE HIDDEN FOR 60 YEARS
Not even his son Chris, a pastor in Tennessee and co-author of a book about his father’s exploits, No Surrender.
“I asked him several times about his World War II experience and he would say: ‘Son, there are some things that are just too difficult to share,’” Chris Edmonds told Our American Stories.
His father died in 1985 and took his secrets to his grave.
It would take another 20-plus years for his son to unearth his father’s story.
HOW RODDIE’S SON UNCOVERED HIS DAD’S HEROIC ACT
Poking around on Google, Chris stumbled upon his Dad’s name in a New York Times story about a home President Richard Nixon purchased in the 1970s from a man named Lester Tanner.
In the piece, Tanner briefly noted he’d been saved from certain death at a POW camp during World War II by a soldier named Roddie Edmonds.
Chris was startled. Could that be his Dad Tanner was talking about?
So he tracked Tanner down like a detective and pieced together the rest of his father’s remarkable tale.
RODDIE WAS PUT IN CHARGE OF 1275 AMERICAN PRISONERS OF WAR
“My Dad was part of the Battle of the Bulge,” Chris Edmonds explained.
“They were sent to replace the men on the front lines and on December 17, 1944, the German forces overwhelmed his unit.
Roddie Edmonds and nearly 1,300 other soldiers eventually ended up in a camp called Stalag IX-A in western Germany.
When they got to the camp, Roddie became the senior commander of the American GI’s.
RODDIE REFUSES ORDER FOR ALL AMERICAN-JEWISH SOLDIERS TO LINE UP
“One day, they got an announcement over the loudspeaker that asked for the Jewish POWs to fall out for the morning roll call,” Chris Edmonds said.
“Lester Tanner told me my Dad immediately said: ‘We are not going to do that’ and sent orders throughout the barracks to have all the men fall out the next morning.”
Chris takes up what happened next:
“ALL OF YOU CAN’T BE JEWS”
So the next morning, all the soldiers and POWs fell out.
There were approximately 1,275 men, and they were all standing there before the barracks and Lester says the commandant came over to my Dad and was furious and said, ‘All of you can’t be Jews.’
Then Paul Stern, who was standing close by, said that my Dad responded: ‘We are all Jews here.’
The commandant was angry that this American had the audacity to disobey an order.
CAMP COMMANDANT PUTS GUN TO RODDIE’S HEAD
He said, ‘I am asking you to command your Jewish men to step forward.’
My Dad’s response was simply this: ‘According to the Geneva Convention all that is required is name, rank and serial number.’
That again infuriated the commandant, who was a Major.
He pulled his gun out of his holster and pressed it to my dad’s forehead and said: ‘You will have your Jewish men step forward immediately or I will shoot you on the spot.’
“YOU WILL HAVE TO SHOOT US ALL”
Lester Tanner said that my Dad said: ‘Major, if you shoot me, you will have to shoot us all.’
And then my Dad added some more: ‘We know who you are and when we win this war you will have to stand for war crimes.’
Tanner said that the Major blanched and turned blood red and for what seemed like a very long time (but wasn’t) and stuck his gun in his holster and turned and walked away.
They all went back into the barracks and cheered my father.’
EVERY ONE OF THOSE AMERICAN MEN HAD A CHOICE
Paul Stern, who was also Jewish, told Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, that seven decades later he could remember every detail of that day, and the five words that would save his life: “We are all Jews here.”
Chris Edmonds noted that the contribution of the other American GIs in the prison camp can’t be underestimated.
“Every one of those 1,200 men who stepped up all had the choice, and they made the right choice as well.”
WHAT WAS RODDIE’S MOTIVATION?
For Chris two questions lingered: Why didn’t his father tell anybody his story? And why did he risk his own life to save others?
“He wasn’t one to brag, or share stuff like that,” Chris explained.
“Probably even today, if he were here, he’d be saying, ‘What’s the big deal? I did what I was supposed to do, I did what anybody else would do, and I’m glad it worked out.’ “
It turns out Roddie Edmond’s sense of moral clarity — and sense of right and wrong — sprang from his faith, which was nurtured at a Methodist church in South Knoxville, where he gave his life to Jesus Christ as a young man.
“RODDIE AND HIS FAITH WERE THE REAL DEAL”
“My Dad was the real deal,” Chris Edmonds said.
“He lived by his faith in God, and it’s even mentioned in his diary.”
“He talked about how bad war is and how he wants to get back and serve God.”
“It wasn’t clear whether Roddie had ever met a Jewish person until he’d enlisted.”
EVERYONE IS MADE EQUALLY IN THE SIGHT OF GOD
“But to Dad, people were people. People were God’s creation,” his son explained.
“And everyone was made equally in the sight of God. Everybody mattered.”
The Jewish men who served under Edmonds agreed with that assessment.
“He had no reason to do what he did, to stand up for us,” Paul Stern noted.
“That’s a real Christian who puts their life on the line for others.”
RARE POSTHUMOUS HONOUR FOR RODDIE
Lester Tanner echoed his friend Paul Stern’s words. “Roddie could no more have turned over any of his men to the Nazis as he could have stopped breathing.”
“He just couldn’t do it. He was a righteous man.”
For his efforts, the soldier was recognised with the Righteous Among Nations Award by Yad Veshem – awarded to non-Jews who helped save Jewish lives during the Holocaust.
He is the only American serviceman to receive the honour.
RODDIE’S LEGACY WILL LIVE ON FOREVER
Roddie Edmonds died in 1985 of congestive heart failure.
But the story of his heart for people — and his heart for his God — will live on forever.
It’s a reminder that ordinary men and women do extraordinary things each and every day — past and present — because of their faith.
Their faith changes lives. And saves them, too.
The post Christian Soldier Who Saved 200 American Jews appeared first on Vision Christian Media.