Doss, Desmond (1919-2006), a United States Army medic, received the Medal of Honor for his lifesaving actions during World War II (1939-1945). The Medal of Honor is the United States military’s highest award for courage. Doss served as company medic for the 77th Infantry Division during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. Despite being unarmed, he repeatedly made the dangerous trek into combat, rescuing 50 to 100 injured servicemen over the course of five hours.
Desmond Thomas Doss was born Feb. 7, 1919, in Lynchburg, Virginia, to a devout Seventh-day Adventist family. Doss’s faith would lead him to claim conscientious objector status during the war. Conscientious objectors are people whose religious beliefs prevent them from bearing arms for their nation’s military. A strict pacifist, Doss refused to carry a gun, choosing instead to serve as an Army medic. This decision was unpopular with his Army unit, as was his strict observation of the Saturday Sabbath, a day of rest for Seventh Day Adventists. Nevertheless, Doss was awarded a bronze star for his conduct during the liberation of Guam in 1944. Shortly afterward, Doss was deployed to serve at the Maeda Escarpment, a 400-foot (121-meter) cliff on the island of Okinawa. The escarpment became known by the nickname Hacksaw Ridge for the bloody fighting that occurred there. During the first day of fighting at Hacksaw Ridge, Doss rescued injured members of his battalion, braving the combat zone unarmed to move soldiers to safety.
Doss’s military career was cut short a few days after the attack at Hacksaw Ridge, when he was injured by a grenade that exploded near him. Doss tended to his severely wounded legs himself, rather than calling another medic into danger to rescue him. He waited hours to be rescued, and just as he was, the unit was attacked again. Doss insisted that another soldier take his place on the stretcher, instead making the journey to the aid station on foot. On the way, he fashioned a splint out of a rifle stock for his arm after the bone was shattered by sniper fire.
Doss survived the war. He accepted the Medal of Honor in October 1945 from President Harry S. Truman. Doss became the first conscientious objector to win the medal. Despite the severity of his injuries and numerous complications, he lived to the age of 87, dying on March 23, 2006. Doss was portrayed by the American-born actor Andrew Garfield in the motion picture Hacksaw Ridge (2016).
