President Donald Trump will posthumously award the Medal of Honor on March 2nd to Master Sergeant Roderick Edmonds, an East Tennessee native who saved hundreds of Jewish-American prisoners of war by refusing Nazi orders to identify them, instead declaring "We are all Jews here."
The ceremony, scheduled for early next week, will recognize Edmonds' extraordinary courage "for acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty from January 27, 1945, to March 30, 1945" while held at Stalag IXA in Ziegenhain, Germany.
On January 26, 1945, Nazi commanders announced that only Jewish-American prisoners would be segregated for roll call—a move Edmonds immediately recognized as likely leading to execution. As the senior American NCO at the camp, he took decisive action.
According to News Channel 9, Edmonds ordered all 1,200 American prisoners to present themselves at roll call instead. When the Nazi commandant realized the deception and became enraged, he pressed a pistol against Edmonds' forehead and demanded he identify the Jewish prisoners, threatening immediate execution.
Edmonds refused to comply, boldly warning the commandant that war crimes prosecution awaited him if he proceeded. The commandant lowered his weapon and abandoned the segregation attempt, saving an estimated 200 to 300 Jewish-American lives.
Weeks later in March 1945, as Allied forces advanced toward the camp, Edmonds orchestrated another act of resistance. When German transports arrived to evacuate prisoners—likely to move them deeper into Nazi territory—he commanded all prisoners to rush back to their barracks. The Germans, unable to force compliance, abandoned the camp and left all 1,200 prisoners behind to be liberated by advancing Allied forces.
In Israel, as across contested regions, security concerns and aspirations for normalcy exist in constant tension. For Israelis, stories of Holocaust heroism carry particular resonance, and Edmonds' courage represents the kind of moral clarity that continues to be honored through Israel's Righteous Among the Nations recognition.
Indeed, Edmonds received that honor in 2016—Israel's highest recognition for non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. The awards ceremony was held at the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., where then-President Barack Obama praised Edmonds for action "above and beyond the call of duty," echoing Edmonds' statement of solidarity with Jews.
The upcoming Medal of Honor ceremony comes 80 years after the events, raising questions about why American military recognition took so long. Edmonds also served in the Korean War before his death, yet his extraordinary World War II actions went without the military's highest honor for decades.
The belated recognition reflects a broader pattern of Holocaust heroism being re-examined and honored in recent years, as historical records are revisited and the urgency of remembering the Holocaust's lessons becomes more pronounced with the passing of the last generation of survivors and witnesses.
For Israel, the timing holds particular significance. The story connects Holocaust remembrance to the current U.S.-Israel relationship, with President Trump presenting the award as his administration navigates Middle East policy, including the Abraham Accords expansion and regional security arrangements.
The narrative also resonates with contemporary debates about moral courage and standing against discrimination. Edmonds' declaration—"We are all Jews here"—represents a profound act of solidarity that transcends religious and ethnic boundaries, demonstrating that protecting the vulnerable requires personal risk and moral clarity.
Israeli officials have long honored righteous gentiles like Edmonds, maintaining meticulous records at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem to ensure such acts of courage are never forgotten. The American military recognition, though late, joins this international effort to preserve and honor Holocaust heroism.
Edmonds' story also highlights the specific targeting of Jewish-American soldiers, a lesser-known aspect of World War II history. While the Holocaust primarily victimized European Jewry, Jewish-Americans in uniform faced particular dangers if captured, as the Stalag IXA incident demonstrates.
The March 2nd ceremony will bring together American military tradition, Holocaust remembrance, and U.S.-Israel relations in honoring a man whose split-second decision to protect fellow soldiers—regardless of their religion—saved hundreds of lives and exemplified the values both nations claim to uphold.
