Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds Congressional Gold Medal Act
This bill, the Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds Congressional Gold Medal Act, would authorize a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal for Master Sergeant Roderick “Roddie” Edmonds in recognition of his heroic actions during World War II. Edmonds, serving as a senior noncommissioned officer in the 422nd Infantry Regiment, reportedly saved approximately 200 Jewish-American soldiers when Nazi officers attempted to segregate Jewish prisoners at Stalag IX-A. By defying orders and publicly declaring, “We are all Jews here,” Edmonds resisted the Nazis’ plan to separate and potentially massacre Jewish prisoners, risking his own life in the process. The bill would have the Secretary of the Treasury strike the gold medal and arrange its presentation to Edmonds’s son or next of kin. Duplicates could be struck in bronze for sale to recoup costs. The act also places Edmonds within the broader historical context by noting his later life, his recognition by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations, and the significance of the event in Holocaust remembrance.
Key Points
- 1Authorizes a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal for Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds in recognition of his World War II actions, specifically his refusal to identify Jewish soldiers and his leadership in protecting them at Stalag IX-A.
- 2The Secretary of the Treasury is responsible for designing and striking the gold medal; the medal is to be presented to Edmonds’s son, Pastor Christopher Waring Edmonds, or the next of kin.
- 3The bill provides for the Secretary to strike and sell bronze duplicates of the medal to cover costs, under regulations established by the Secretary.
- 4The medals would be national medals under U.S. law (title 31, chapter 51) and treated as numismatic items for related regulations.
- 5The bill includes detailed findings about Edmonds’s life, the incident at Stalag IX-A, his later service, and his recognition by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations, highlighting the historical and moral significance of his actions.