(Courtesy of Jewish Foundation for the Righteous) The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous (JFR) in partnership with the Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Middlesex County and the Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey, will present an evening honoring Jewish war veterans on Tuesday, November 15 at 7 p.m. at the JCC’s campus, 1775 Oak Tree Road.

The event will feature Pastor Chris Edmonds, the son of Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds. The pastor will recount the story of his father’s heroism in saving the lives of 200 Jewish American soldiers, and also how Pastor Edmonds discovered his father’s heroism years after his passing.

Master Sgt. Edmonds is the only American soldier recognized as “Righteous Among the Nations” by Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Center.

The program will include a screening of the JFR’s award-winning short documentary “Following the Footsteps of My Father,” which recounts the inspirational story of rescue through the lens of Pastor Edmonds as well as several of the American Jewish POWs saved by the late master sergeant. On December 19, 1944, Master Sgt. Edmonds was captured by the German Army during the Battle of the Bulge and sent to the Stalag IXA prisoner-of-war camp. As the highest-ranking American soldier in the camp, he was responsible for the camp’s 1,292 American POWs.

The camp’s commandant ordered Edmonds to identify the Jewish soldiers in order to separate them from the other prisoners. He refused, and when the German commandant placed his pistol against Edmonds’ head, demanding that he identify the Jewish soldiers, Edmonds responded, “We are all Jews here,” refusing to identify the Jewish soldiers and thereby saving their lives.

He survived 100 days of captivity, and returned home after the war, but never spoke of his actions. Edmonds passed away in 1985, and later his son, Pastor Edmonds, began to put together the story of his father’s heroism during the war. Posthumously, the officer’s actions have been recognized by Yad Vashem, who have conferred him with the designation “Righteous Among the Nations.”

The event is free and open to the community. Advance registration is requested and can be done through the registration link at www.jccmc.org/veterans or by calling the JCC at 732-494-3232.

Event co-sponsors include the Jewish War Veterans Department of New Jersey, American Legion Father & Son Post 435, American Legion Fugle-Hummer Post 65, VFW Post 3117, Metuchen-Edison Area Interfaith Clergy Association, Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple, Congregation B’nai Tikvah, Neve Shalom, East Brunswick Jewish Center and Temple Emanu-El.

The JFR provides monthly financial assistance to 120 aged and needy Righteous Gentiles living in 12 countries. Since its founding, the JFR has provided more than $42 million to aged and needy rescuers. Its Holocaust teacher education program has become a standard for teaching the history of the Holocaust and educating teachers and students about the significance of the Righteous as moral and ethical exemplars. For more information, visit https://www.jfr.org/