President Donald Trump posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on Monday to Army Master Sgt. Roderick “Roddie” W. Edmonds, a World War II soldier whose defiance of a Nazi order saved more than 200 Jewish American prisoners of war.

“In 1941 Roddie Edmonds of Knoxville, Tenn., enlisted in the U.S. Army and soon rose to one of the youngest master sergeants in the military,” Trump said during the White House ceremony. “In 1944, he sailed to Europe to fight in World War II … and soon found himself on the front lines of the Battle of the Bulge.”

During the battle, Edmonds and his unit were captured by German forces and interned at Stalag IXA, a prisoner-of-war camp in Germany. As the senior non-commissioned officer among more than 1,200 American POWs, Edmonds was responsible for the welfare of his fellow soldiers.

Trump recounted the pivotal moment that would define Edmonds’ wartime legacy: on January 26, 1945, an SS officer ordered “only American Jews” to assemble for roll call the next morning, warning that anyone who disobeyed would be shot. 

“There were more than 200 Jewish American soldiers in the camp,” Trump said. “Roddie knew their separation from the group would mean certain death, so that night, he summoned his team and devised a plan.”

Edmonds directed his senior leaders to have all 1,200 American prisoners present themselves for roll call. The next morning, the American soldiers “fell in line together, shoulder to shoulder.” The action enraged the Nazi commandant, who Trump said “pressed the barrel between Sgt. Edmonds’ eyes,” and demanded that Edmonds identify the Jewish soldiers or be shot. 

“Staring right back into the raging face of evil, Sergeant Edmonds replied fearlessly: ‘We are all Jews here,’” said Trump. Edmonds also invoked the Geneva Convention, warning the commandant that executing prisoners for refusing to identify their religion would constitute a war crime.

“The Nazi officer lowered his weapon and the soldiers erupted,” said Trump. “With total disregard for his own life, Roddie had saved over 200 of his fellow service members and their camp was liberated two months later.” 

Edmonds’ actions have been recognized as extraordinary moral courage. In 2015, Israel’s Yad Vashem awarded him the title Righteous Among the Nations, the highest honor for non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Edmonds is one of only five Americans on that list and the sole U.S. serviceman so honored.

Edmonds died in 1985 without ever having received official recognition for the actions that saved hundreds of lives. In fact, the events had remained unknown, even to his family, until uncovered decades later by his son, Chris Edmonds. 

More than eight decades later, Trump said the Medal of Honor “so courageously earned” by Edmonds will not be forgotten. Edmonds’ son accepted the medal on his father’s behalf.