By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com What follows is the story of two heroes – two men from two very different backgrounds.   And we all need to hear about both of them.  Both are an inspiration. One was a devout Christian from Knoxville, Tennessee who was a US Army Master Sergeant in the Battle of the Bulge.  The other is currently a chaplain in the US armed forces who was born in Rhode Island. Both individuals stand out as remarkable, remarkable heroes and incredible people PORTRAIT NUMBER ONE 25 year old Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds (1919-1985) was captured in the Battle of the Bulge.  After being transferred to Stalag IX-A in Ziegenhain, Germany from another POW Camp,  Edmonds was the most senior non-commissioned officer of the 1275 American prisoners and was in charge of them. On Friday evening, January 26, 1945, Edmonds was ordered to present his Jewish soldiers in front of the barracks the following Saturday morning. That night, Edmonds told his men, “We are not going to do that.”  He ordered all of the American prisoners to present themselves the next day. When the presiding German officer, Major Siegmann, saw all 1,275 men the next morning, he said, “They cannot all be Jews!” Edmonds replied, “We are all Jews.” Major Siegmann placed his pistol to Edmonds’ head and said, “If you do not order the Jewish soldiers to step forward, I will shoot you now.”   Edmonds responded, “According to the Geneva Convention, we only have to give our name, rank and serial number. If you shoot me, you have to shoot all of us. After the war you will be tried for war crimes.” The major was furious and redfaced, but backed down.  Standing next to Edmonds that morning was 19-year-old Jewish soldier named Paul Stern.   Another US army soldier who was there was Lester Tanner. In talking about that memorable morning, he told Yad Vashem that everyone understood what identifying the Jews in the camp would mean. “Over 1,000 Americans stood in wide formation in front of the barracks behind Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds.. Master Sergeant Edmonds, at the risk of his immediate death, defied the Germans with the unexpected consequences that the Jewish prisoners were saved.” THE SECOND PORTRAIT Major Elie Estrin was born in Rhode Island.  He is a chaplain in the USAFR, is the editor of the Jewish American Warrior, is active in a remarkable organization called the Aleph Institute, which has provided crucial financial, emotional and spiritual assistance to thousands of shattered families – Jews and non-Jews alike.  Rabbi Estrin has provided spiritual assistance to thousands of soldiers in the United States Armed Forces across the globe.  He and his wife, Chaya Rochel, have also written a remarkably inspiring book entitled, “Of Medicine, Miracles, and Mindsets: One family’s fight for their baby’s life… and the lessons learned along the way..” But aside from all of this, Rabbi Estrin has remarkably – just saved the life of one Jewish woman – the details of this story we will not go into.  But suffice it to say, he made an extraordinary kiddush Hashem, and brought hundreds of people familiar with this woman’s plight to tears of gratitude.  Kiddush Hashem, in fact, is the life goal of this remarkable chaplain. Rabbi Estrin speaks of polarization and […]

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