In uniform, over 300 JROTC students from Forest Hill Community High School embarked on an educational journey about veterans as part of Florida’s Holocaust Education Week and Veterans Day.Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.It’s the largest JRTOC program in Palm Beach County.Cadets were able to gain a better understanding of how veterans fought for the freedom we enjoy each and every day. Pastor Chris Edmonds spoke in front of hundreds of cadets on Friday, sharing his father’s bravery as a soldier in Germany.Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds fought in WWII. WATCH BELOW: 2023 STUART AIR SHOW UNDERWAYWhile no longer with us today, he’s hailed a war hero for saving over 200 Jews from concentration camps. The Germans wanted Jews, the Jewish American soldiers, and so on the morning of January 27, 1945, they asked for all the Jewish men to fall out,” said Pastor Chris Edmonds, keynote speaker and author.“As a matter of fact, the very day my dad stood up to his men, they were liberating Auschwitz,” added Edmonds.“The major pulled his gun and pressed it hard into his head, and demanded he said ‘Sergeant, one last chance, you will order the Jews to step forward, or I will shoot you right now’ and my dad looked at him and he said ‘Major, you can shoot me, but you’ll have to kill all of us because we know who you are, you’ll be a war criminal when we win this war and you will pay,” said Edmonds. That sergeant never returned to ask for the Jewish men again. Edmonds’ story continues to be shared with younger generations. Around the country: National coverage from WPBF 25 News“My dad was enlisted, so just knowing what they went through back then, I can put two and two together now,” said Cynthia Rymer, JROTC student.“We teach them what it really means to wear a uniform. They represent what we’ve fought for and the things our nation is going through,” said Master Sergeant Margarita Bonner, who runs the JROTC program at Forest Hills Community High School. Bringing Edmonds as a special speaker to the school was made possible through funding from the non-profit inSIGHT Through Education. For more on Edmonds’ story, visit nosurrenderbook.com or roddieedmonds.com Stay informed: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News
In uniform, over 300 JROTC students from Forest Hill Community High School embarked on an educational journey about veterans as part of Florida’s Holocaust Education Week and Veterans Day.
Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
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It’s the largest JRTOC program in Palm Beach County.
Cadets were able to gain a better understanding of how veterans fought for the freedom we enjoy each and every day.
Pastor Chris Edmonds spoke in front of hundreds of cadets on Friday, sharing his father’s bravery as a soldier in Germany.
Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds fought in WWII.
WATCH BELOW: 2023 STUART AIR SHOW UNDERWAY
While no longer with us today, he’s hailed a war hero for saving over 200 Jews from concentration camps.
The Germans wanted Jews, the Jewish American soldiers, and so on the morning of January 27, 1945, they asked for all the Jewish men to fall out,” said Pastor Chris Edmonds, keynote speaker and author.
“As a matter of fact, the very day my dad stood up to his men, they were liberating
Auschwitz,” added Edmonds.
“The major pulled his gun and pressed it hard into his head, and demanded he said ‘Sergeant, one last chance, you will order the Jews to step forward, or I will shoot you right now’ and my dad looked at him and he said ‘Major, you can shoot me, but you’ll have to kill all of us because we know who you are, you’ll be a war criminal when we win this war and you will pay,” said Edmonds.
That sergeant never returned to ask for the Jewish men again.
Edmonds’ story continues to be shared with younger generations.
Around the country: National coverage from WPBF 25 News
“My dad was enlisted, so just knowing what they went through back then, I can put two and two together now,” said Cynthia Rymer, JROTC student.
“We teach them what it really means to wear a uniform. They represent what we’ve fought for and the things our nation is going through,” said Master Sergeant Margarita Bonner, who runs the JROTC program at Forest Hills Community High School.
Bringing Edmonds as a special speaker to the school was made possible through funding from the non-profit inSIGHT Through Education.
For more on Edmonds’ story, visit nosurrenderbook.com or roddieedmonds.com
Stay informed: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News