WWII Soldier Who Declared “We Are All Jews” to Receive Medal of Honor

Master Sgt. Roderick “Roddie” Edmonds, the American soldier who defied Nazi orders to protect Jewish prisoners of war during World War II, will posthumously receive the Medal of Honor. The White House confirmed that Edmonds will be honored at a ceremony on March 2, 2026, more than 80 years after his act of defiance saved about 200 Jewish-American soldiers.

The Medal of Honor is the highest award in the U.S. military. For Edmonds’ family, the recognition follows years of effort to bring his story to light and comes decades after Israel honored him for saving Jewish lives during the Holocaust.

Edmonds was captured by German forces in December 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge, one of the deadliest campaigns of the war. He was sent to Stalag IX-A, a prisoner-of-war camp near Ziegenhain, Germany, where he became the senior American noncommissioned officer responsible for 1,292 captured U.S. soldiers.

On January 27, 1945, the camp commandant ordered Edmonds to identify which of the prisoners were Jewish so they could be separated from the rest. Under Nazi policy, Jewish POWs were often subjected to execution or transfer to concentration camps. Edmonds refused the order, and instead ordered all of his men, Jewish and non-Jewish, to assemble outside their barracks together.

According to accounts later shared by survivors, a German officer pointed a pistol at Edmonds and shouted, “They cannot all be Jews.” Edmonds responded, “We are all Jews here.” When threatened further, Edmonds warned the officer: “Major, you can shoot me, you can shoot all of us, but we know who you are. This war is almost over, and you’ll be a war criminal.”

The officer ultimately backed down. Historians estimate that about 200 Jewish-American soldiers were spared as a direct result of Edmonds’ decision to stand in solidarity with them.

Edmonds never spoke publicly about the incident. He returned home after the war and later continued his military service during the Korean War. After retiring from the Army, he worked in journalism and business in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. He died in 1985 at age 65.

His family did not learn of his actions until 2013, when a former Jewish POW who had been present at the camp shared the story. “All we knew was that he fought in World War II, in the Battle of the Bulge, and came home,” his son, Chris Edmonds, said. “He wouldn’t talk about it.”

In 2015, Yad Vashem recognized Edmonds as one of the “Righteous Among the Nations,” the honor bestowed upon non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. He became the first American soldier to receive the distinction.

His actions drew bipartisan praise in subsequent years. In 2016, President Barack Obama cited Edmonds’ courage during remarks at the Israeli embassy in Washington on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, saying, “I cannot imagine a greater expression of Christianity than to say, I, too, am a Jew.” Three years later, President Donald Trump recounted the story at the New York City Veterans Day Parade, saying, “That’s something. Master Sergeant Edmonds saved 200 Jewish-Americans soldiers that day.”

Trump recently called Chris Edmonds to invite him to the White House to receive the Medal of Honor on his father’s behalf.