According to ABC News, the Nazis in charge of Prisoner of War camps during World War II had orders to separate the Jewish-American prisoners from the other soldiers. When the Nazis tried to follow through with this order, Roddie Edmonds took a stand.
The news source reported that Edmonds was the highest ranking non-commissioned officer in the camp at the time. He used his authority to bring 1,000 other captives forward when the Nazis called for the Jewish soldiers. Edmonds told the captors, "We are all Jews here." His actions may have saved the lives of hundreds of his fellow soldiers, and 70 years later, Israel awarded him with the title "Righteous among the Nations," the country's highest honor.
"Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds seemed like an ordinary American soldier, but he had an extraordinary sense of responsibility and dedication to his fellow human beings," Avner Shalev, chairman of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum and Memorial, told ABC News. "The choices and actions of Master Sgt. Edmonds set an example for his fellow American soldiers as they stood united against the barbaric evil of the Nazis."
Edmonds is one of only four other Americans to receive the title, and though it was awarded posthumously, his family told ABC News that they were very proud of his actions.