WWII vet who shielded Jews at Nazi POW camp at gunpoint gets medal of honor

US Master Sgt. Roderick W. Edmonds, who protected his Jewish comrades in a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp during World War II, was one of three people to be awarded the Medal of Honor by US President Donald Trump on Monday.

Edmonds died in 1985 and received the award, the US’s highest military decoration, posthumously.

Edmonds was the ranking non-commissioned officer among American prisoners of war at a German camp in early 1945.

According to the commendation, the Germans announced on January 26, 1945, that “only Jewish-American prisoners would fall out for roll call the following morning, at the threat of execution.”

Edmonds, who enlisted from South Knoxville, Tennessee, determined that allowing that segregation would result in the torture or death of 200 Jewish American POWs. He directed officers to have all 1,200 American troops present themselves for roll call.

In the morning, according to a statement from the White House, the Nazi commandant “removed his pistol, pressed it hard against Master Sergeant Edmonds’ forehead between his eyes and demanded that he order all Jewish-American prisoners to step forward, or he would be shot.”

The statement said Edmonds showed “unwavering courage at the risk of his life” and did not concede, warning the Nazi officer that if he fired the gun, he would face war crimes charges.

“We are all Jews here,” Edmonds said in a quote that Trump recounted Monday.

The German officer relented and made no further efforts to identify the Jewish American soldiers.

“Really amazing, right? It’s an amazing story,” Trump said.

Weeks later, as Allied forces advanced toward the camp, the Germans ordered POWs to prepare for evacuation. Edmonds prepared the POWs to assemble in formation and resist. According to the White House statement, he told his fellow prisoners to “break ranks and rush back to their barracks.”

German forces eventually retreated from the camp.

“Without regard for his own life, Master Sergeant Edmonds gallantly led these prisoners in a relentless pursuit of opposition and resistance, forcing the Germans to abandon the camp, leaving the 1,200 American prisoners behind,” the White House said.

Edmonds’ son, Chris, first learned of the story when reading his father’s journals after his death, then interviewing surviving veterans who also were POWs. Chris Edmonds spent years pushing for the official recognition and, on Monday, accepted the medal from Trump on his father’s behalf.

In addition, retired Command Sgt. Maj. Terry P. Richardson was recognized for actions during the Vietnam War that were credited with saving the lives of 85 other service members.

Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis, who was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2013, was recognized for saving a Polish Army officer’s life.

“There’s no ceremony that can be more important than this,” Trump said at the start of the East Room ceremony that included the recipients’ family members and the man Ollis shielded from enemy fire.

“Bravery is amazing,” Trump said. “You never really know who’s brave and who’s not until they’re tested.”