Tag: Infantry Division

 

The Soldier and his Sword – Desmond Doss

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Desmond T. Doss stood by his convictions under ridicule and enemy fire. As he continued to honor God throughout WWII, God honored him with the highest honor America can bestow. He would not drill or train on Saturday, the Sabbath. He would not carry a gun because he believed all killing was wrong. He wouldn’t even eat meat after seeing a chicken flopping around with its head cut off.

Desmond Doss and Harry TrumanSome of the stories he recalls actually would have branded him a klutz rather than a smart, practical, and honorable leader. He did learn many valuable lessons during his childhood, though, that shaped his thinking and perhaps caused him to react the way he did during his time in the army.

Desmond Doss (February 7, 1919–March 23, 2006) was the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor and one of only three so honored. He was a Private First Class (at the time of his Medal of Honor heroics) in the U.S. Army assigned to the Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division. He died the same day as another Medal of Honor recipient, David Bleak.

Desmond refused to kill, or carry a weapon into combat, because of his personal beliefs as a Seventh-day Adventist. He thus became a medic, and by serving in the Pacific theatre of World War II helped his country by saving the lives of his comrades, while also adhering to his religious convictions.

His Medal of Honor was earned by the risks he took to save the lives of many comrades.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Private First Class, United States Army, Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division.

Place and date: Near Urasoe Mura, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, April 29, 1945 – May 21, 1945.

Entered service at: Lynchburg, Virginia

Birth: Lynchburg, Virginia

G.O. No.: 97, November 1, 1945.

Citation:

Desmond DossHe was a company aid man when the 1st Battalion assaulted a jagged escarpment 400 feet (120 m) high. As our troops gained the summit, a heavy concentration of artillery, mortar and machine gun fire crashed into them, inflicting approximately 75 casualties and driving the others back.

Pfc. Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying them 1 by 1 to the edge of the escarpment and there lowering them on a rope-supported litter down the face of a cliff to friendly hands. On May 2, he exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire in rescuing a wounded man 200 yards (180 m) forward of the lines on the same escarpment; and 2 days later he treated 4 men who had been cut down while assaulting a strongly defended cave, advancing through a shower of grenades to within 8 yards (7.3 m) of enemy forces in a cave’s mouth, where he dressed his comrades’ wounds before making 4 separate trips under fire to evacuate them to safety. On May 5, he unhesitatingly braved enemy shelling and small arms fire to assist an artillery officer.

He applied bandages, moved his patient to a spot that offered protection from small arms fire and, while artillery and mortar shells fell close by, painstakingly administered plasma. Later that day, when an American was severely wounded by fire from a cave, Pfc. Doss crawled to him where he had fallen 25 feet (7.6 m) from the enemy position, rendered aid, and carried him 100 yards (91 m) to safety while continually exposed to enemy fire.

On May 21, in a night attack on high ground near Shuri, he remained in exposed territory while the rest of his company took cover, fearlessly risking the chance that he would be mistaken for an infiltrating Japanese and giving aid to the injured until he was himself seriously wounded in the legs by the explosion of a grenade. Rather than call another aid man from cover, he cared for his own injuries and waited 5 hours before litter bearers reached him and started carrying him to cover. The trio was caught in an enemy tank attack and Pfc. Doss, seeing a more critically wounded man nearby, crawled off the litter; and directed the bearers to give their first attention to the other man.

Conscientious ObjectorAwaiting the litter bearers’ return, he was again struck, by a sniper bullet while being carried off the field by a comrade, this time suffering a compound fracture of 1 arm. With magnificent fortitude he bound a rifle stock to his shattered arm as a splint and then crawled 300 yards (270 m) over rough terrain to the aid station. Through his outstanding bravery and unflinching determination in the face of desperately dangerous conditions Pfc. Doss saved the lives of many soldiers. His name became a symbol throughout the 77th Infantry Division for outstanding gallantry far above and beyond the call of duty.

Read more about Desmond at DesmondDoss.com

He is the subject of the award-winning documentary, The Conscientious Objector, with interviews with Doss as well as some of the soldiers whose lives he saved.

 

A True Story of An American Soldier, documentary film.

Infantrymen who once ridiculed and scoffed at Desmond’s simple faith and refusal to carry a weapon-now owed their lives to him. Director Terry Benedict tells Desmond’s incredible story through the eyes of the men who witnessed this humble man’s heroic acts. Winning the respect of his fellow soldiers, they recommended him for the highest honor America can bestow on one of her sons-The Congressional Medal of Honor.

DesmondDoss-book

Read the incredible story of a man who stood by his convictions under ridicule and enemy fire. As he continued to honor God throughout WWII, God honored him with the highest honor America can bestow. Written by Frances M. Doss

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