Desmond Doss, the man, the myth, the legend.

So with the upcoming movie Hacksaw Ridge, people are learning about the actions of Corporal Desmond Doss. TSO’s previous post gave a good idea about what the man did, but I want talk about who he was.

I first read about him when assigned to give a oral presentation about a Medal of Honor recipient for WLC. He was a Medic and that was something I could relate to. But also that it was a reminder that heroes can come from even the most unlikely of places. His actions in the Pacific made the the Army to finally see that.

He was born in February 7th 1919 and learned the trade of carpentry from his father, who was cabinet maker. He was a devote 7th Day Adventist. We worked at the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company and declined a work related Draft Deferment when drafted in 1942. In in own words he said this.

“I felt like it was an honor to serve my country, according to the dictates of my conscience.”

“I didn’t want to be known as a draft dodger, but I sure didn’t know what I was getting into.”

Basic Training at Fort Jackson in 1942 as a Medic and assigned to the 77th Infantry Division. Ostracized by fellow Soldiers for religious views on not working on the Sabbath (Saturday) and refusal to take a life. Recommend for Court Martial as “mentally unfit” for service. Later in the Pacific he recieved two Bronze Stars for service as a medic in Guam and the Leyte Island in the Philippines during 1944.

“I made It a practice to go out on patrol with the men. The non-com warned me not to, but I told him, it may not be my duty but it was what I believed in. I knew these men; they were my buddies, some had wives and children. If they were hurt, I wanted to be there to take care of them. And when someone got hit, the others would close in around me while I treated him, then we’d all go out together.”

On the day that he lowered over 72 fellow Soldiers down the hill to safety he kept saying one thing and one thing only. “Lord, help me get one more. Just ONE more.” Just reading when he went though was humbling, let alone what it must have been like on that hill.

They were my men and I couldn’t go off and leave them even if it cost me my life. So I stayed there and let the men down by rope about 35 feet to the place where they could be taken by litter to the aid station.

If that was not a example of what a medic should be, I do not know what is.

CPL Desmond Doss stayed in the Army until 1946. He lost a lung to Tuberculosis in the same year. The infection and loss of a lung contributed to his medical complications later in life.

I found a few of his favorite phrases.

Anything that’s not worth doing right to start with is not worth doing at all.

It’s not how much you know, but what you do with what you know.

When asked about what advice he had for current and future medics, he had this to say.

The best advice I can give is put your heart and soul into your work. If you like what you’re doing, the Lord will bless. I know some thought I was better. Well I felt like I was. We put our heart and soul into our work. I feel like, especially for the medics, it’s the most rewarding work there is.

It is something that all in the medical profession should remember and take to heart.

Since today is the day he received the Medal of Honor, he talks about that day in the video. Start on 4:45 and let it play

Category: Real Soldiers