President Donald Trump hosted a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House Monday to honor three American service members whose acts of extraordinary courage spanned three generations of war: World War II, Vietnam, and Afghanistan.
As reported on Tuesday’s AM Update, Army Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds, Army Command Sgt. Major Terry Richardson, and Army Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis were honored for their heroism during the emotional ceremony for the nation’s highest military decoration.
Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds
The first honoree, Army Master Sgt. Edmonds of Knoxville, Tennessee, enlisted in the Army in 1941. His unit was overrun by Nazi forces during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. After marching for days through bitter cold winter, Edmonds and his 1,200 soldier unit arrived at a German prisoner-of-war camp.
On July 26, 1945, a Nazi officer ordered that only American Jewish soldiers were to report for roll call the following morning and warned that all who disobeyed the order would be executed. President Trump described what happened next:
“There were more than 200 Jewish American soldiers in the camp, and Roddie knew their separation from the group would mean certain death. So that night, he summoned his team and devised a plan. The next morning, all 1,200 American men fell in line together, shoulder to shoulder. Enraged, the Nazi commandant rushed forward, drew his Luger pistol, and pressed the barrel between Sergeant Edmonds’ eyes. He barked at Roddie, ‘They cannot all be Jews’… Sergeant Edmonds replied fearlessly, ‘We are all Jews here.’ The Nazi officer lowered his weapon and the soldiers erupted in cheers. With total disregard for his own life, Roddie had saved over 200 of his fellow service members there. Camp was liberated two months later.”
Edmonds passed away in 1985 at age 65. His son Chris (pictured above) accepted the honor on his father’s behalf.
Command Sgt. Major Terry Richardson
The second recipient, Army Command Sgt. Major Richardson, was honored for his actions during the Vietnam War. On September 12, 1968, Richardson and Alpha Company was tasked with securing a hill behind enemy lines unaware the terrain contained about 300 enemy bunkers, with forces vastly outnumbering them.
As his platoon came under intense machine gun and grenade fire, Richardson repeatedly rescued wounded soldiers. President Trump recounted Richardson’s actions:
“He spent the next eight hours calling in tactical strikes, completely exposed. An hour in, an enemy sniper shot rang out and the bullet tore through his right leg violently. He was in bad shape, but Terry disregarded that and pushed through. And after seven more hours of calling in American fire from above, the enemy retreated later that day, his team found him with both eardrums totally ruptured and a mangled right leg and foot, but still barely living, but living nevertheless. Due to Terry’s actions above and beyond the call of duty, 82 men, Alpha Company, survived this battle.”
Richardson retired from the Army on July 31, 2008. After Trump placed the medal around his neck, he turned to the president and immediately said, “Wow!”
Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis
The final Medal of Honor was presented to the parents of Army Staff Sgt. Ollis for his heroism in Afghanistan. On August 28, 2013, insurgents launched an attack on his base involving a car bomb and armed enemies wearing suicide vests.
Ollis was without any armor and carrying only a rifle when he swept through a building to check for casualties. He located a Polish coalition forces officer, and the two soldiers moved toward enemy fire. President Trump detailed Ollis’s final moments:
“At one point shrapnel ripped through the Polish soldier’s legs rendering him unable to walk, very, very severely hurt. In that chaos of gunfire, explosions, and charred human remains, a terrorist insurgent appeared. Rounding a corner with his suicide vest, fully armed, and you could see it, it was going to happen, he charged the wounded Polish soldier. Without hesitation, Michael raised his gun and forced himself between the insurgent and the man he just met, shielding him with his own body… In perhaps his final heartbeat, Michael fired his weapon and the terrorist detonated his vest simultaneously. Staff Sergeant Ollis was killed just weeks before his 25th birthday, and nobody was any more brave than that. In his final act on earth, Michael absorbed the blast, sparing the life of that Polish warrior.”
The Polish officer, who later named his son Michael in Ollis’ honor, also spoke during the ceremony. He thanked Ollis for his sacrifice saying,“I will see you in our heavenly homeland.”
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