On October 7th 2018, Pastor Chris W. Edmonds talked about his father, Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds, at Congregation Torat El in Ocean Township, New Jersey. Master Sergeant Edmonds grew up in Tennessee and was an American Christian soldier during WWII. He fought bravely and maintained his belief in God, life, and equality during his time as a POW. In the POW camp for American soldiers, a German Major demanded Roddie Edmonds, the highest ranking American prisoner, to send out all the Jewish soldiers and have them line up. He knew that they would be transported for execution. Instead, he organized all regiments in the camp to stand up and say, “We are all Jews here.” He refused to identify the Jewish soldiers even with a gun pressed against his forehead. They risked their own lives to hold onto humanity. Master Sergeant Edmonds and his group saved over 200 Jewish American POWs and their 2,000 descendants.  

Pastor Christopher Edmonds only recently discovered his deceased father’s diaries as a POW. This led him to researching and discovering the bravery of his father. The American soldiers who served with his father described him as a man who “never got the recognition deserved, saved lives, and was a righteous man.” Heroes rarely speak of their bravery. Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds opposed the hatred and the murderous actions of the Nazis and treated all of humanity with dignity. As the Pastor referred to his father, “ordinary lives with extraordinary influence.” His father lived by a belief to fight for what is right and act on it. Roddie’s Code means to choose love, oppose hate, choose goodness, and do the right thing. Pastor Edmonds preaches that individuals need to remember to stand up against hate.