US Army CPL Desmond Doss - Conscientious Objector to Medal of Honor Recipient in WWII

CPL Desmond Doss

Welcome back everyone on this episode of Duty & Valor, I’m going to tell you the story of a man who would forgo a draft deferment and enlist in the US Army during WWII.  A man who fought against an unjust discharge to remain in the military.  A man who refused to carry any weapons into combat.  A man who was credited with saving the lives of over 75 men in the battle for Okinawa.  This is the story of Medal of Honor Recipient CPL Desmond Doss.

Desmond Doss was born on February 7th, 1919 in Lynchburg, Virginia to parents William and Bertha.  The Doss family was a devout family who followed the teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.  And early in his life, Desmond would demonstrate his selfless side on many occasions.  It was written that as a child he would hear a radio story of an accident victim needing blood, so he walked six miles to donate blood.  And again, a few days later he made the same journey to donate again.  

He was studying at the Park Avenue Seventh-day Adventist Church School but was forced to end his education in the eighth grade due to the effects of the great depression.  He wanted to help his family financially so he got a job at the Lynchburg Lumber Company.  And by March of 1941 he was employed at the Newport News Shipyard as a ship joiner.  Because of his job at the shipyard he was offered a draft deferment as this job was critical to the war effort, but he chose to forgo the deferment and enlist in the US Army.

By April 1st of 1942, Desmond enlisted in the US Army at the rank of Private First Class.  He was sent to Fort Jackson in South Carolina for basic military training where he was assigned to the 77th Infantry Division.  It was early in his training that his strong religious beliefs, and diehard commitment to them, led to conflicts with Army leaders.  Private Doss wanted to help the war cause without compromising his belief in Thou shalt not kill and working on the sabbath.  As you could imagine, the Army didn’t think a person who didn’t want to kill or work on a Saturday would not be a good fit for their war mission.  But Private Doss persevered.  He had to deal with the taunts and bullying of fellow soldiers, as well as a reassignment to another unit, which the military brass hoped would force him to quit the Army.  Seeing that his steadfastness wasn’t being affected, the officers even attempted to force his discharge from the Army under Section 8, which is used when it is determined that one isn’t fit for military service due to their mental condition.  In addition they also court-martialed him for refusing the direct order of picking up a rifle for training.  He fought the discharge and won, and he transferred back to the 77th Infantry Division where he began training as a combat medic.            

By the summer of 1944, Private Doss and the rest of the 77th, found themselves in combat in the Pacific at the Battle of Guam and then at Leyte Island in the Philippines.  By this point Private Doss had gained the trust of his fellow soldiers as he had repeatedly shown them his skill as a medic and bravery on the battlefield.  One such example was while they were in the Philippines.  He heard that there were two injured Americans trapped on a hill surrounded by Japanese fighters.  He, along with the runner, made their way to their position where they found the two men with heavy injuries.  Private Doss was able to treat the first man’s injury to his head and he was evacuated back to safety.  He then made it to the second man, who was known to Doss.  This soldier was in a bad state.  He was unconscious and barely breathing.  Doss and the runner began to carry the injured soldier back to get him further aid when they were repeatedly shot at by the Japanese.  Doss would not be hit, but the runner unfortunately would be.  Doss was able to find additional help to evacuate the injured soldiers they were attempting to save.  They were able to load the injured men just in time for Doss to grab onto the Jeep as it pulled away at high speeds under heavy enemy fire.  Unfortunately the unconscious soldier would die of his wounds.   

Another time, Private Doss against the wishes of the NCO’s in his unit and facing the risk of sniper fire, would make his way to an injured soldier where he was able to treat him and save his life.  By the time Private Doss left the Philippines he had been awarded two Bronze Stars with a V device for valor in combat.

In May of 1945, Private Doss and the 77th had joined other American forces at the Battle of Okinawa, which was one of the bloodiest battles of WWII.  While reading his bible, Doss was asked to join other men in climbing an escarpment known as Hacksaw Ridge, to support the men there who were suffering numerous casualties.  In an attempt to gain control of the area, American servicemen had been ascending the cliff in an attempt to overrun the Japanese position.  They were allowed to climb to the top before they were fired upon by the Japanese, who were heavily entrenched in foxholes, caves, and tunnels.  The Americans had to face heavy machine gun,  mortar, and artillery fire.  

While attempting to use explosives to neutralize the Japanese in the caves and tunnels, the Americans were shocked to see countless men racing towards them.  The US forces were given the order to make an orderly retreat, which quickly fell apart.  As other men tried to make their retreat back down the cliffside, Private Doss made the decision to forgo attempting a retreat.  Rather, he chose to stay and aid the wounded.    

Over the ensuing hours, Doss was seen making his way from injured man to injured man providing care and dragging them to the cliffside where he would lower them down by rope.  This allowed the men to be evacuated and get the medical care they needed.  As soon as one man was in the hands of the troops below, Doss would turn with no hesitation towards the next injured man.  He would be continually shot at, and would have to take cover from incoming mortar rounds, all while crouching and crawling to the next injured man.  With each man he saved, Private Doss said he prayed to the Lord to help get one more.  And he would repeatedly do so, over and over again.  Private Doss was credited with saving the lives of over 75 American soldiers over a period of less than twelve hours.  

Two weeks later while still on Okinawa, Private Doss was treating injured men when an enemy grenade landed in their foxhole.  Knowing he only had seconds to react, Doss moved towards the grenade and attempted to kick it away from the injured.  Unfortunately, the grenade detonated before he could do so and he was severely injured in the leg.  In total he received 17 shrapnel wounds.  He would tend to his own wounds so that other medics wouldn’t have to leave the protection of their own foxhole.  For over five hours he would remain in the same foxhole before the stretcher bearers were able to make it to him.  While being moved to an aid station, Private Doss saw a more severely injured American and he made the decision to roll off the stretcher and aid the man, he then told them to move the other man and come back for him.    

While he was waiting to be removed, Doss was shot in the left arm by a Japanese sniper.  This injury was severe, he suffered nerve damage and it was broken in multiple places.   He lacked the proper equipment to splint his arm, so in what would be the only time he would touch a weapon during the war, he grabbed a nearby rifle and removed its barrel which allowed him to use the gun's stock as a splint.  He then crawled over 300 yards to the aid station to receive care.     

For his actions on Hacksaw Ridge, Desmond Doss was presented the Medal of Honor by President Harry Truman on Oct. 12th, 1945.

Due to the injuries to his arm, Desmond wasn’t able to have the career in carpentry as he had always planned, rather he would devote his life to the church.  His first marriage was to Dorothy Schutte in 1942, and in 1946 they had a son named Desmond “Tommy” Doss Jr.  They would remain together until her untimely death in 1991.  Desmond would remarry in 1993 to Frances Duman.

Desmond endured many medical complications from his service in WWII.  In addition to the injuries to his arm and leg, he also contracted Tuberculosis in the Philippines which caused him to lose a lung and five ribs.  He would also become completely deaf due to complications from medical treatment he was receiving.    

Desmond Doss, a man who served with pride but lived with humility, passed away on March 23rd, 2006 in Piedmont, AL.  He was buried at the Chattanooga National Cemetery in TN. 

Among our nation's heroes, his story is among one of the more well known.  Though, it is still not told as much as his actions deserve.  There have been countless books written about his life in addition to his life being told on the big screen.  His story is told in the 2004 documentary Conscientious Objector by Terry Benedict as well as the Mel Gibson directed movie titled Hacksaw Ridge.  

Thank you for listening, and if you enjoyed this week's show, we kindly ask that you follow us and leave a review and 5 star rating.  Sources for today's show can be found in the show notes.  And join us next week where we’ll tell you the story of another true American hero.