Taking time out from what must be a slightly busy schedule, President Trump awarded Medals of Honor to soldiers serving in World War II (Master Sergeant Roddy Edmonds, posthumous), Vietnam (Command Sergeant Major Terry Richardson), and Afghanistan (Staff Sergeant Michael Ollis, killed in action). The Army has posted summaries of their heroics on X.
The White House video of the ceremony begins with fanfare and the opening prayer. Trump’s opening remarks begin at about 2:40. They include a statement of the rationale supporting the operation against the Iranian regime. Among other things, he recalled the roadside bombs that mangled and killed American soldiers in Iraq.
Mr. Richardson is retired from the Army and attended in uniform. To hear of his gallantry with him standing there and still among us was awe-inspiring. President Trump invited Polish Army officer Lt. Karol Cierpica, one of those saved by Michael Ollis’s self-sacrifice, to pay tribute to him. The cereomony was, needless to say, stirring in its entirety.
I have written about Roddy Edmonds a few times on Power Line. Senator Tom Cotton has kept the Edmonds flame burning through the award of the Medal of Honor today. He was in attendance at the ceremony.
When their Nazi captors wanted the Jews among the 1200 prisoners of war for whom he was responsible, Edmonds developed a plan that he executed as their commanding officer. The 1200 soldiers turned out as he responded: “We are all Jews.”
With a pistol to his forehead, Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds made a choice.
He could save himself or save the 200 Jewish-American Soldiers under his command. For his heroism, he will receive the Medal of Honor on March 2. This is his story. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/J3EXkYLFRA
— U.S. Army (@USArmy) February 27, 2026
Edmonds never got around to telling his own story. His son Chris told the story as he reconstructed it in the 2019 book No Surrender: A Father, a Son, and an Extraordinary Act of Heroism That Continues to Live on Today. As stated above, Chris Edmonds was in attendance today.
