(WBIR - KNOXVILLE) Decades after his death, a World War Two veteran and Knoxville native is being honored for his brave stance that saved the lives of Jewish Prisoners of War.
But this incredible story is something he kept from his family.
Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds was captured in the battle of the bulge and spent 100 days in captivity.
When the Nazi captors ordered the American prisoners of war to separate from the Jewish POW's - Edmonds convinced the more than 1,000 U.S. soldiers to say, "We're all Jews."
Now 70 years later, he's being honored for that bravery by being named "Righteous Among the Nations." He's the first American soldier to be recognized.
The story of Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds's bravery wasn't something he shared with his family.
"My dad even asked him many times to tell us about his service and he would say, "there are somethings you just don't talk about," explained his granddaughter Alicia Burchell.
The story of his bravery was eventually unearthed by his son, Chris Edmonds, after his father's death in 1985.
And it happened while reading old newspaper articles and diaries.
His grandaughter believes his actions speak louder than any medals could.
"You don't forget this character in the face of danger. You have already built this character and these principals you live by and when you're faced with something like this is a true test of if you're going to live by them or not," said Burchell.
She hopes her grandfather's story is passed down and teaches people to stand up for their fellow man.
"How wonderful he was and how he just really cared for other people and truly lived out what he said. When you hear a story like this, it just really puts it in perspective and you realize that even in the face of death that he still lived out what he believed."
Edmonds will now be honored at Yad Vashem, a Holocaust memorial established in Israel in 1953.
