Paolo Del Pielago
September 1st 1939, World War 2 begins and after six long years of war, on September 2nd 1945 the battle is over. With over 65 million dead both soldiers and innocent there are some of these brave men who were lost to the war are honored. What about all the other soldiers who fought and came back to live to tell the tale this is one of the millions of soldier's stories. Desmond Thomas Doss born February 7th 1919 was one of the craziest soldiers in world war 2. Doss' parents, William Thomas Doss and Bertha E. Oliver in Virginia. The second oldest child siblings to Audrey Miller the oldest ,and Harold Doss the youngest. Doss was drafted into the U.S Army April 1st 1942 and served as a Corporal and fought in three battles, the Battle of Guam, Leyte and, Okinawa. The most notable battle that Desmond was in was in the Battle of Okinawa. In Guam and Leyte they were training for what Desmond had accomplished in Okinawa. During his training to become a soldier his beliefs as a seventh day Adventist made more trouble for him in training. Doss did not want to take people's lives but he still signed up for the military and, was in the infantry rifle company. Doss wanted to be a combat medic to be on the battlefield and help the soldiers around him. After this, Doss was harassed because of his beliefs and refusal to carry a rifle. One soldier even said, "Doss, as soon as we get into combat, I'll make sure you won't come back alive." Hell even his commanding officers wanted to get rid of him because they thought he was a liability. Doss was pushed harder than everyone else they tried to intimidate him, scold him, give him extremely difficult duties, and even court martial him for not carrying a weapon. Doss was very religious and followed the commandments of the bible ever since he was a child such as "Thou shalt not kill". One of these commandments would cause more trouble and that was going to church every Saturday. he requested to be excused weekly to attend Church. After this, the soldiers saw just how much of a Christian freak Doss was and they bullied him for it. In their first battle, the soldiers had been surprised at Doss' actions to even the soldier who would bully him by helping with the blisters on their feet and giving them his own canteen to recover from heat stroke. He never held a grudge because of his golden rule, "... Do to others what you would have them do to you..."(Matthew 7:12 NIV). In the battles of Guam, Leyte and, Okinawa, when someone cried medic or needed help Doss would always rush to them ignoring his own safety. He would constantly run into the heat of battle with bullets whizzing by him and mortar shells going off all around him. Doss got so close to enemy lines to treat a soldier that he could even hear the Japanese whispering. Maeda Escarpment was one of the last barriers until the the allies could invade their homeland. The soldiers call this rock face Hacksaw Ridge a huge cliff to climb up and to meet face to face with Japanese arms. The officers ordered an immediate retreat when they were met with the Japanese's counterattack once they climbed up. Less than one third of the men that climbed up made it back down in that retreat. Despite the order to retreat, Doss stayed up on the cliff to save what soldiers he could all alone. His iron willed determination had saved 75 men that were abandoned by the soldiers that retreated. Every time he was feeling overcome by fatigue or intense pain, he would always say, "Lord help me get one more." Several days later, the battle still continued and Doss was hiding with two other rifle men in a shell hole when a Japanese grenade landed at his feet and injured him severely. The shrapnel tore into his leg and, went up into his hip. He treated his wounds to the best of his ability and, then went to a safer spot. While going to safety, his arm was shattered by a sniper's bullet and his duties as a combat medic were over. Doss shows just how much he cares about other people's lives by insisting that the litter bearers take someone else first before they take Doss. Doss truly shows his kindness of putting others before himself. After the battle was won Doss returned home with two bronze medals, three purple hearts, The Asiatic pacific medal with three bronze stars, the beachhead arrow(served in four campaigns), the good conduct medal, the American defense campaign, and the not common presidential Unit Citation. This was given to the 1st battalion, 307 inf. and the 77th infantry division for taking Maeda Escarpment. Doss was chose to represent the medal of honor at the White House ceremony. Doss was the first Conscientious objector to receive a medal of honor from Harry S. Truman 33rd president of the United States. Truman states that "I'm proud of you. You really deserve this. I consider this a greater honor than being president." Doss was discharged in 1946 and he had developed tuberculosis. Doss spent the next six years in hospitals and suffered from his experiences of sleeping in muddy cold, and wet foxholes in the pacific. The tuberculosis had grown and Doss had to get his lung and five ribs surgically removed. He lived the rest of his life with one lung until it too failed and Doss died at age 87 with difficulty breathing on March 23rd, 2006.
http://edu.lva.virginia.gov/dbva/items/show/98
https://www.adventist.org/en/service/religious-liberty/desmonddoss/
http://desmonddoss.com/bio/bio-real.php
https://www.npr.org/2016/11/04/500548745/the-real-hacksaw-ridge-soldier-saved-75-souls-without-ever-carrying-a-gun
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Doss
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