President Donald Trump has awarded three brave U.S. Army soldiers the Medal of Honor: Master Sergeant Roderick (Roddie) W. Edmonds, Staff Sergeant Michael H. Ollis, and Command Sergeant Major Terry P. Richardson.
The president began the White House medal ceremony with a story about Edmonds. Edmonds was held in a German prisoner of war camp after his 1,200 soldier unit was captured during the Battle of the Bulge. The battle is known as Germany’s last major offensive on the Western Front and while it proved costly for Edmonds and his troops, it ultimately exhausted Germany’s last offensive strength on the Western Front.
“Roddie was the top ranking infantry man in the camp, he was number one, meaning he was responsible for the lives of his fellow service members,” Trump said. “On July 26, 1945 a Nazi SS officer issued an order over the camp loudspeaker… he said that only American Jews were to show up to roll call following this morning. He added that all who disobeyed this order will be shot.”
Edmonds knew there were more than 200 Jewish-American soldiers in the camp and that separation from the group would mean certain death for them, so that night he came up with a plan.
“The next morning, all 1,200 American men fell in line together, shoulder-to-shoulder,” at which point a Nazi commander drew his luger pistol and pressed the barrel between Sergeant Edmonds’ eyes and barked: “They cannot all be Jews!”
Master Sergeant Edmonds fearlessly held his ground, refusing to concede, and verbally warned the Nazi commandant that if he was executed, the Nazi would be prosecuted for war crimes once the war was over.
“Staring straight back into the raging face of evil, Sergeant Edmonds replied fearlessly, ‘we are all Jews here.’” The president continued that “with total disregard for his own life, Roddie had saved over 200 of his fellow service members. Their camp was liberated two months later. We’re honored to be joined today by Roddie’s son, Chris.”
Pastor Chris Edmonds approached the stage where the nation paused to honor his late father.“Today your father gets the honor he so courageously learned,” Trump told Chris after an applause from the room. “It’s an amazing story.”
Trump accepted Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R., Ark.) request to honor Edmonds. Cotton, who was proudly perched in the front row during the ceremony, has been one of Edmonds’s biggest advocates.
“Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds was a true American hero,” Cotton told the Washington Reporter following the event. “One a cold, dark morning in January 1945 his courageous leadership and unwavering faith served more than 200 American Jews at a Nazi POW camp. For years, I’ve been supporting the effort to recognize Master Sgt. Edmonds with the Medal of Honor, and commend President Trump, Secretary Hegseth, and Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll for finally awarding him this well deserved honor.”
Edmonds’ courage led American prisoners in a relentless pursuit of opposition and resistance, forcing the Germans to abandon the camp and leave the 1,200 American prisoners behind.
Trump has spent significant time in recent weeks honoring some of America’s greatest warriors. At the conclusion of his State of the Union address, Trump announced that Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover and retired Navy Capt. Royce Williams would also receive medals of honor — the latter has been a priority for Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) for years.
Slover, who is still on active duty, earned the medal for actions last month in Venezuela, while Williams, who is now 100 years old, received the medal for actions during the Korean War in 1952.
Slover was part of the military effort to capture Nicolás Maduro during the raid on January 2, Trump said. He was responsible for planning a helicopter mission involving a CH-47 Chinook.
“Slover planned a mission and was the flight lead in the cockpit of the first helicopter,” Trump said. “Eric steered the Chinook under the cover of night and descended swiftly upon Maduro’s heavily protected military fortress.”
The area, Trump said, was heavily guarded by thousands of soldiers.
“While preparing to land, enemy machine guns fired from every angle, and Eric was hit very badly in the leg and hip — one bullet after another,” Trump said. “He absorbed four agonizing shots, shredding his leg into numerous pieces.”
This year, the U.S. will celebrate 250 years since its founding, and Trump said the U.S. is stronger than it has ever been.
“Members of Congress and my fellow Americans, our nation is back, bigger, better, richer, and stronger than ever before,” he said. “Less than five months from now, our country will celebrate an epic milestone in American history: the 250th anniversary of our glorious American independence.”
The stories of Edmonds, Slover, and countless others, both recorded and unrecorded, are a stark reminder of the cost of American independence as July 4, 2026 approaches.