Desmon Doss

Soldier, war hero

• Born: February 7, 1919
• Birthplace: Lynchburg, Virginia
• Died: March 23, 2006
• Place of death: Piedmont, Alabama

Education: Park Avenue Seventh-day Adventist Church School

Also known as: Desmond Thomas Doss, Desmond T. Doss

Significance: Desmond Doss was a soldier who served in the US Army as a combat medic during World War II. Although he refused to carry a weapon on religious grounds and was classified as a conscientious objector as a result, Doss distinguished himself by going above and beyond the call of duty while attending to fellow servicemen who were wounded in battle. He was eventually awarded the Medal of Honor in recognition of his bravery and commitment to service and was immortalized in the 2016 film Hacksaw Ridge.

Background

Desmond Doss was born to William and Bertha Doss of Lynchburg, Virginia, on February 7, 1919. Doss's father, a World War I veteran, was a carpenter who worked at a local shoe factory. The Doss family, which included Doss and his two siblings, belonged to the Park Avenue Seventh-day Adventist Church and was deeply religious. As a child, Doss was fascinated by a framed poster of the Ten Commandments that hung in his family's living room and featured illustrations depicting each commandment. He was particularly drawn to an image of the biblical figures Cain and Abel that accompanied the Sixth Commandment: "Thou shalt not kill." Young Doss wondered what could possibly possess a person to want to kill his own brother as Cain did. This question stayed with him his entire life and made it impossible for him to accept the idea of killing another person.

Doss attended Park Avenue Seventh-day Adventist Church School until he finished eighth grade. After that, he left school in favor of a job at the Lynchburg Lumber Company. He worked there for a year before he got a job with the city of Lynchburg and eventually became a joiner at the Newport News naval shipyard.

Life's Work

While Doss was employed at the shipyard, Japanese forces launched the December 7, 1941, surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that caused the United States to enter World War II. The pacifist Doss could have used his position at the shipyard to get a deferment and avoid combat, but he was determined to serve his country. To that end, he enlisted in the Army in hopes of becoming a combat medic. His religious views, however, prevented him from accepting the idea of carrying a weapon or working on Saturday, which was his Sabbath day. Because of this, Doss was deemed a conscientious objector—a label usually reserved for people who refused to salute the flag or don a uniform. He rejected this designation, however, and instead thought of himself as a conscientious cooperator who was willing to serve with certain special considerations.

Doss was initially assigned to an infantry rifle company. This made his refusal to carry a weapon a serious problem. Many of his fellow soldiers harassed and abused him for his views. One man even threatened to make sure that Doss did not survive the war. Some of Doss's superiors thought he was a liability and tried to have him removed from duty. Their efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, however. In the end, Doss was assigned to the 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division as a combat medic and was deployed to the front lines of the Pacific theater.

The 77th Infantry Division fought in several key battles that took place on the islands of Guam, Leyte, and Okinawa. During these skirmishes, Doss fearlessly crossed the battlefield to aid injured soldiers and evacuate the seriously wounded to field hospitals. Even as bullets flew and mortar shells exploded around him, Doss still refused to carry a weapon.

By May 1945, retreating Japanese soldiers were forced to defend Okinawa and the Maeda Escarpment, which were the last barriers between Allied forces and Japan itself. Doss and the 77th Infantry were among those tasked with leading the fight in this region. Their primary goal was to take the Maeda Escarpment, which was a massive rock face nicknamed Hacksaw Ridge. When the men reached the top of the ridge on May 5, Japanese forces rushed them in a surprise attack. While most of the soldiers quickly headed back down the cliff, Doss defied the order to retreat and stayed to rescue those who were wounded in the assault. His actions on that day saved at least seventy-five lives.

American forces eventually captured Hacksaw Ridge and continued their effort to take Okinawa. About two weeks after his heroics at the ridge, Doss took part in a failed nighttime raid during which a live grenade landed at his feet. Doss attempted to kick the grenade away from himself and three other soldiers but was severely injured in the subsequent blast. Shrapnel tore into his leg up to the hip. As medics carried him off the battlefield, Doss saw a soldier who was more gravely wounded than him. Doss rolled himself off his litter and demanded that the medics see to the other man first. While he waited for the medics to return, Doss was shot in the arm. Although he survived his wounds, Doss's time in the service came to an end.

Impact

Doss's exemplary service record and unfaltering commitment to his fellow soldiers made him a legendary war hero. In recognition of his heroism, President Harry S. Truman presented Doss with the Medal of Honor on October 12, 1945. He also received the Bronze Star for valor with one Oak Leaf cluster, a Purple Heart with two Oak Leaf clusters, and many other honors. In the 1980s, a new school in Doss's hometown of Lynchburg was named the Desmond T. Doss Christian Academy in his honor. Several books were written about Doss over the years. Most notably, he was the subject of the Academy Award–winning 2016 feature film Hacksaw Ridge.

Personal Life

Doss married Dorothy Schutte in 1942 and remained with her until her death in 1991. He subsequently married Frances Duman in 1993. He and his first wife had one child, Desmond Jr. Prior to his 1946 discharge from the Army, Doss developed a case of tuberculosis and ultimately lost a lung and five ribs. He lived the rest of his life with a single lung until his passing on March 23, 2006.

Bibliography

Blair, Elizabeth. "The Real 'Hacksaw Ridge' Soldier Saved 75 Souls without Ever Carrying a Gun." NPR, 4 Nov. 2016, www.npr.org/2016/11/04/500548745/the-real-hacksaw-ridge-soldier-saved-75-souls-without-ever-carrying-a-gun. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.

"Desmond Doss: The Real Story." DesmondDoss.com, desmonddoss.com/bio/bio-real.php. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.

Goldstein, Richard. "Desmond T. Doss, 87, Heroic War Objector, Dies." New York Times, 25 Mar. 2006, www.nytimes.com/2006/03/25/us/desmond-t-doss-87-heroic-war-objector-dies.html?mcubz=3&mcubz=3. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.

Herndon, Booton. Redemption at Hacksaw Ridge: The Gripping True Story That Inspired the Movie. Remnant Publication, 2016.

"History of Desmond Doss." Desmond T. Doss Christian Academy, desmondtdoss.org/about-us/history-of-desmond-doss/. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.

Lange, Katie. "Pfc. Desmond Doss: The Unlikely Hero behind 'Hacksaw Ridge.'" US Army, 28 Feb. 2017, www.army.mil/article/183328/pfc‗desmond‗doss‗the‗unlikely‗hero‗behind‗hacksaw‗ridge. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.

Miller, Mike. "The True Story of Hacksaw Ridge and Desmond Doss: The Medal of Honor Winner Who Never Fired a Shot." People, 24 Feb. 2017, people.com/movies/the-true-story-of-hacksaw-ridge-and-desmond-doss-the-medal-of-honor-winner-who-never-fired-a-shot/. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.

Schkloven, Emma. "Desmond Doss, an American Hero." The News & Advance, 5 Nov. 2016, www.newsadvance.com/news/local/an-american-hero/article‗a17f188d-2584-53f9-b672-1d947c8c4498.html. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.