Changes

''American infantryman and WWII POW honored as Righteous Among the Nations''  

''American infantryman and WWII POW honored as Righteous Among the Nations''  

'''Roderick "Roddie" Waring Edmonds''' (August 20, 1919 – August 8, 1985),<ref name="ww2soldier_2015_12_21_cnn">{{cite web |last=Liebermann |first=Oren |date=December 21, 2015 |title='We are all Jews': World War II soldier saved POWs |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/21/europe/us-pow-holocaust-hero/index.html |publisher=CNN}}</ref> was a U.S. Army [[Infantry|infantryman]] renowned for his courageous stand during [[World War II]]. As the highest-ranking American non-commissioned officer captured by German forces in December 1944, Edmonds was interned at Stalag IX-A,{{Efn|Not to be confused with [[Stalag XI-A]].}} a [[prisoner-of-war camp]] in [[Ziegenhain|Ziegenhain, Germany]]. On January 27, 1945, Edmonds refused an order by German officers to identify Jewish-American soldiers, possibly for separate execution, instead defiantly declaring that "We are all Jews here." The captors relented, sparing the lives of up to 300 Jewish-American [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bartrop |first=Paul R. |title=The Holocaust: An Encyclopedia and Document Collection |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-4408-4084-5 |editor-last=Bartrop |editor-first=Paul R. |volume=1 |location=Santa Barbara, California |pages=181&nbsp;f |chapter=Roddie Edmonds |oclc=967457463 |editor-last2=Dickerman |editor-first2=Michael}}</ref><ref name="we_are_all_jews_2016_01_27_ny_times">Julie Hirschfeld Davis, [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/world/middleeast/obama-honor-americans-effort-to-save-jews-the-holocaust.html "Saying 'We Are All Jews,' Obama Honors Americans' Lifesaving Efforts in Holocaust"], January 27, 2017, ''[[New York Times]]''</ref> In risking his own life to save his Jewish comrades, Edmonds' actions exemplified profound moral courage and leadership. He was posthumously recognized by [[Yad Vashem]] as "[[Righteous Among the Nations]]," the only American serviceman to receive this honor.<ref>{{cite news |title=Trump posthumously awards WWII hero Roddie Edmonds with Medal of Honor |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-889425 |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=March 10, 2025}}</ref>{{Efn|The "[[Righteous Among the Nations]]" honor is an award presented to non-Jewish people by [[Israel]] for people that risked their lives to protect Jewish people during the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]].}} Edmonds' actions are widely recognized as sincere, highlighting the enduring power of individual conscience in the face of [[structural evil]].<ref name="us_solider_2015_12_02_npr_org">[https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/12/02/458166709/u-s-soldier-posthumously-honored-for-protecting-jewish-pows-in-1945 "US Soldier Honored Posthumously For Protecting Jewish POWs In 1945"], December 2, 2015, [[National Public Radio]]</ref> [[Barack Obama]] praised Edmonds during a speech in 2016 at the [[Israeli Embassy]] in [[Washington, D.C.]].<ref name="we_are_all_jews_2016_01_27_ny_times" />  

'''Roderick "Roddie" Waring Edmonds''' (August 20, 1919 – August 8, 1985),<ref name="ww2soldier_2015_12_21_cnn">{{cite web |last=Liebermann |first=Oren |date=December 21, 2015 |title='We are all Jews': World War II soldier saved POWs |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/21/europe/us-pow-holocaust-hero/index.html |publisher=CNN}}</ref> was a U.S. Army [[Infantry|infantryman]] renowned for his courageous stand during [[World War II]]. As the highest-ranking American non-commissioned officer captured by German forces in December 1944, Edmonds was interned at Stalag IX-A,<ref><small>Not to be confused with [[Stalag XI-A]].</small></ref> a [[prisoner-of-war camp]] in [[Ziegenhain|Ziegenhain, Germany]]. On January 27, 1945, Edmonds refused an order by German officers to identify Jewish-American soldiers, possibly for separate execution, instead defiantly declaring that "We are all Jews here." The captors relented, sparing the lives of up to 300 Jewish-American [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bartrop |first=Paul R. |title=The Holocaust: An Encyclopedia and Document Collection |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-4408-4084-5 |editor-last=Bartrop |editor-first=Paul R. |volume=1 |location=Santa Barbara, California |pages=181&nbsp;f |chapter=Roddie Edmonds |oclc=967457463 |editor-last2=Dickerman |editor-first2=Michael}}</ref><ref name="we_are_all_jews_2016_01_27_ny_times">Julie Hirschfeld Davis, [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/world/middleeast/obama-honor-americans-effort-to-save-jews-the-holocaust.html "Saying 'We Are All Jews,' Obama Honors Americans' Lifesaving Efforts in Holocaust"], January 27, 2017, ''[[New York Times]]''</ref> In risking his own life to save his Jewish comrades, Edmonds' actions exemplified profound moral courage and leadership. He was posthumously recognized by [[Yad Vashem]] as "[[Righteous Among the Nations]]," the only American serviceman to receive this honor.<ref>{{cite news |title=Trump posthumously awards WWII hero Roddie Edmonds with Medal of Honor |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-889425 |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=March 10, 2025}}</ref>{{Efn|The "[[Righteous Among the Nations]]" honor is an award presented to non-Jewish people by [[Israel]] for people that risked their lives to protect Jewish people during the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]].}} Edmonds' actions are widely recognized as sincere, highlighting the enduring power of individual conscience in the face of [[structural evil]].<ref name="us_solider_2015_12_02_npr_org">[https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/12/02/458166709/u-s-soldier-posthumously-honored-for-protecting-jewish-pows-in-1945 "US Soldier Honored Posthumously For Protecting Jewish POWs In 1945"], December 2, 2015, [[National Public Radio]]</ref> [[Barack Obama]] praised Edmonds during a speech in 2016 at the [[Israeli Embassy]] in [[Washington, D.C.]].<ref name="we_are_all_jews_2016_01_27_ny_times" />  

== Early life and education ==  

== Early life and education ==