By Arlene Bridges Samuels, Times of Israel—-
A World War II soldier’s frayed diary is tucked away in a cigar box. His granddaughter uses the true story for her college history project. His son, Rev. Chris Edmonds is compelled to track down any still-living Jewish soldiers his Dad saved; a legacy far bigger than he imagined. A series of “divine coincidences” shapes NO SURRENDER, a newly released Harper One book by Chris Edmonds and Douglas Century. It is destined to become a classic.
The Battle of the Bulge sets the stage where Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds stepped into history 74 years ago. In 2015 Yad Vashem recognized him as the only American soldier “Righteous Among the Nations.” He and his men in the 106th Infantry, 422nd Regiment-the Golden Lions-found themselves in the Ardennes Forest only nine days after they arrived in France in late 1944. A miscommunication between commanders on a faulty phone line turned into one of the worst intelligence disasters in World War II. Seventy-five hundred Americans were forced to surrender to the Nazis. With seven Panzer divisions and surrounded by 13 German infantry divisions, American bravery was plentiful but big weapons were scarce.
Reading NO SURRENDER came closer to marching me straight into the Ardennes Forest in World War II history as any book I have ever read. Vicariously connecting with the horror, I heard the clattering treads of German tanks. I lost feeling in my feet walking through the December 1944 snows, one of the coldest and wettest winters on record. I agonized looking into the shattered faces of dead American soldiers. In a delirium of exhaustion, I wondered if I would fall dead in the middle of a forced march. I smelled uniforms worn for months coated in mud and excrement. Then reading about the capture and imprisonment of the Golden Lions in Nazi POW camps, Stalag IX-A, and IX-B, I discovered the valor of Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds and “his boys.” Like most of The Greatest Generation, Edmonds returned home unwilling to talk about it. When family and friends asked about the war, he would only comment, “We were humiliated.”
Chris Edmonds, Senior Pastor of Piney Grove Baptist Church in Maryville, Tennessee eventually felt gripped to learn more about his Dad’s service. By then, Chris was a family man, a father and grandfather, a busy pastor, and ran a charity which helped teenagers. Although his Dad had passed away in 1985, Chris explains the unexpected turn-around in his own life. “One evening my wife Regina and I watched a TV news program where we learned that nearly 300 World War II veterans died every day. I was shocked.” His Dad’s diary quickly filled his thoughts. That night the pastor sat at his computer and googled his Dad’s name, “Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds.” A tiny fact in a New York Times article from the 1970s caught his attention. Chris prayed right there sitting at his computer. “Lord, your timing is always perfect. Please lead me.”
Chris’ detective work later resulted in a trip to New York City where Lester Tanner, one of “Roddie’s boys,” warmly welcomed Chris and his wife Regina to the Harvard Club. “When we started talking, I was shocked to learn that not only did my Dad save Lester Tanner’s life, but he saved other men as well!” The first meeting with Lester opened more relationships, and more stories of men on Roddie’s list; among them Paul Stern, Sydney “Skip” Friedman, and Sonny Fox. Chris said, “My dad’s story was becoming my story too.” Continue Reading….