In memory of World War II veteran Lester Tanner: 'We are all Jewish'
Lester Tanner's life is worth remembering — as are the lives of so many other members of the 'Greatest Generation'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A simple flagged-draped coffin rested on the altar on Sunday, in a Jewish funeral chapel on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
It could be any of the thousands of funerals for a World War II veteran.
The honor guard, a lone soldier, solemnly walks down the chapel's center aisle, stands at attention at the head of the casket — and salutes.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A solo trumpet plays taps.
Another soldier makes the same trek and stands at the foot of the casket.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The two of them fold the flag with careful precision.
"At a time when so many" of our World War II veterans are leaving us, writes Lauren Green, "it's important that we not let their stories die with them." She tells the story of WWII veteran Lester Tanner, whose funeral was held last week in Manhattan. (iStock)
One soldier presses the triangular folded flag to his chest, faces the family, hands them the flag and salutes.
Then he says, "On behalf of the president of the United States — thank you for your service to this country."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}‘Greatest Generation’ is leaving us
World War II vets are dying at an increased rate.
The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that by 2036, there will be only a few hundred remaining of the "Greatest Generation."
At a time when so many of them are leaving us, it's important that we not let their stories die with them.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lester Tanner died last week. He was 99 years old.
Lester Tanner, World War II veteran, passed away recently at age 99. At his funeral, "everyone talked about his incredible life," writes Lauren Green. (Courtesy The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous)
At his service on Sunday, everyone talked about his incredible life, ordinary really — but full of the blessings that make life a joy.
A Harvard law degree, a thriving business, wife, children, stepchildren, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren with one on the way.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}All of their lives touching other lives, bringing more lives into the world.
And it was all possible because nearly 80 years ago, one man was brave enough to stand in the gap and say, "We are all Jewish."
Tanner's story is entwined with the saga of Roddie Edmonds.
Tanner's story is entwined with the saga of Roddie Edmonds.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Edmonds was a master sergeant of the 106th Infantry Division, 422nd Infantry Regiment, in the United States Army during World War II.
This undated photo shows World War II United States Army Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds — who stood up for Lester Tanner and other Jewish soldiers in a POW camp during World War II. (Courtesy Yad Vashem via AP)
He was the highest ranking officer at the Nazi's Stalag IX, a prisoner of war camp, that captured nearly 1,300 American soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944.
The soldiers, some of them barefoot, had been marched brutally for miles in snow and cold.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tanner and many others suffered severed frostbite, which made his feet scaly even decades later.
Tanner explained that in World War II, a man named Roddie Edmonds stood up for him. It became the defining moment in his life.
Edmonds never told his family about his experiences during the war.
His son Christopher, now a Baptist minister, was always curious.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Yet his father died in 1985 at age 65, never talking about his experiences in that POW camp.
But in 2008 an article appeared in The New York Times about Lester Tanner — who in 1980 sold his townhouse to former President Richard Nixon, after Nixon had been rejected from an apartment building because residents there didn't want him living near them.
Lester Tanner (left) with Chris Edmonds, who learned how his own father, Roddie Edmonds, saved Tanner and other Jewish soldiers during the war. (Courtesy The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous)
Tanner, a devoted Democrat, thought that was terrible.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He reached out to the Nixons and said they could buy his place.
In explaining why he, a Democrat, would be gracious to a disgraced Republican, Tanner explained that in World War II, a man named Roddie Edmonds stood up for him.
It became the defining moment in his life — and made him committed to doing the same.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Roddie Edmonds saved the lives of at least 200 Jewish soldiers. He also inspired bravery in all the men and gave them hope that they could survive the camp and return home.
That article caught Christopher Edmonds' attention.
And that's when he learned what his father had done.
In January 1945 in that POW camp, the Nazi commandant ordered Master Sergeant Edmonds to have all the Jewish soldiers fall out the next morning.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}REAGAN LIBRARY IN CALIFORNIA WILL HOST HOLOCAUST IN NEW YEAR: ‘SO EMOTIONAL,’ SAYS SURVIVOR
It meant that the Nazis would separate them for extermination, Hitler's final solution.
Edmonds told the men the night before that they weren't going to do that.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dried roses are seen in a fence at the site of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau camp during commemorations to honor the victims. (Wojtek Radwanski / AFP)
The next morning, all of the nearly 1,300 American soldiers lined up. The 19-year-old Tanner stood at Edmonds' right, and another young Jewish soldier, Paul Stern, was on his left.
The commandant was incensed. He approached Edmonds and yelled, "They can't all be Jewish!"
Edmonds answered, "We are all Jewish."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The commandment cocked his pistol and put it to Edmonds' forehead, threatening to kill him then and there if he didn't have the Jewish soldiers fall out.
Christopher Edmonds first met Lester in 2013. Their friendship inspired a book as well as a documentary.
Edmonds refused. He said to the commandant that even if he were to kill him, "We know who you are, and you will be tried on war crimes."
The commandant relented, put his pistol back in the holster and walked away.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}That day, Roddie Edmonds saved the lives of at least 200 Jewish soldiers.
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He also inspired bravery in all the men and gave them hope that they could survive the camp and return home.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Christopher Edmonds first met Lester in 2013. Their friendship inspired a book as well as a documentary.
"It was the greatest honor to know Lester."
Christopher Edmonds spoke at Lester's funeral, saying, "It was the greatest honor to know Lester." And that "Lester was treasure."
He quoted Psalm 118 knowing that it was as an unlikely scripture at a funeral, but it told the story of Lester's life: "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."
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In 2015, Roddie Edmonds was recognized as "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem, the world Holocaust Remembrance Center.
The accolades tell a great story.
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But for Lester J. Tanner's family and friends, it's a precious lesson about the value of one life — and the fearlessness and courage of one man — that made all of their lives possible.