Desmond Doss was a Seventh-day Adventist whose faith would not let him kill, so he served in the US Army as a medic and refused to carry a weapon. In training, men in his unit thought he was a coward. They threw shoes at him while he prayed and tried to have him transferred out of the unit.
On Okinawa in 1945, his battalion attacked a jagged escarpment 400 feet high and took heavy casualties. When the others were driven back, Doss stayed. Under fire, he carried the wounded to the edge one by one and lowered them down the cliff on a rope-supported litter: about 75 men, many of them the soldiers who had mocked him.
Weeks later, a grenade wounded his legs. On the stretcher, he saw a man hurt worse, crawled off, and had the bearers take that man first.
On October 12, 1945, President Truman gave him the Medal of Honor. He was the first conscientious objector to receive it, and he never fired a shot.
Fact check
The facts and where they come from
- A Seventh-day Adventist who would not kill, Doss refused to carry a weapon and served as a medic; he “refused to even touch a weapon during his entire military career.” 15
- Men in his unit felt he was a coward, and several attempts were made to remove him from the unit. 4
- In training, recruits threw shoes at him while he prayed and tried to get him transferred out of the unit. 3
- On Okinawa in 1945, his battalion assaulted “a jagged escarpment 400 feet high,” suffered about 75 casualties, and the others were driven back. 2
- He stayed under fire, carried the wounded one by one to the edge, and lowered them “on a rope-supported litter down the face of a cliff.” 2
- He prayed: “Dear God, let me get just one more man.” 3
- By nightfall he had rescued about 75 soldiers, including many of the men who had berated him. 3
- Weeks later (May 21), a grenade wounded his legs. On the litter he saw a more critically wounded man, crawled off, and had the bearers take that man first. 2
- President Truman presented the Medal of Honor on October 12, 1945. Doss was the first conscientious objector to receive it. 1
- He never fired a shot: he carried no weapon. 1
Sources
- Desmond Doss Wikipedia
- Desmond T. Doss, Medal of Honor citation (1945) Wikimedia Commons
- Pfc. Desmond Doss: The unlikely hero behind ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ (Katie Lange) US Army, army.mil
- Private First Class Desmond Thomas Doss, Medal of Honor (Kali Martin, 2020) The National WWII Museum
- Unlikely heroes Grand Forks Air Force Base
Notes
Accounts word his prayer differently. The Army’s article gives “Dear God, let me get just one more man”; others give “Lord, please help me get one more.”
Photo credits
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