Desmond Doss

Desmond T. Doss
Desmond Thomas Doss, Medal of Honor recipient
Born	February 7, 1919(1919-02-07) Lynchburg, Virginia
Died	March 23, 2006(2006-03-23) (aged 87) Piedmont, Alabama
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Rank	Corporal
Unit	77th Infantry Division
Battles/wars	Battle of Okinawa
Awards	Medal of Honor Bronze Star (2) Purple Heart (3)

Desmond Thomas 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 (the others are Thomas W. Bennett and Joseph G. LaPointe, Jr.). He was a Corporal (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 Doss 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. Shortly before leaving the Army, Desmond was diagnosed with tuberculosis.^[1]

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

He is the subject of The Conscientious Objector, an award-winning documentary.^[2]

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:

Doss receiving the Medal of Honor from President Harry Truman

He 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 machinegun 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 all 75 casualties one-by-one 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. Awaiting 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.^[2]

Other Honors and Recognition

On July 10, 1990, a section of Georgia Highway 2 between US Highway 27 and Georgia Highway 193 in Walker County was named the "Desmond T. Doss Medal of Honor Highway."^[3]

In July 2008, the guest house at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. was renamed Doss Memorial Hall.^[4]

On August 30, 2008, a two-mile stretch of Alabama Highway 9 in Piedmont was named the "Desmond T. Doss, Sr. Memorial Highway."^[5]

He is buried in Chattanooga, Tennessee's National Cemetery.

He was a resident of Lynchburg, Virginia for which a portion of US Route 501 near Peaks View Park is named in his honor. Local veterans of the area still honor this hero by decorating the signs marking this portion of road several times during the year particularly around patriotic holidays and especially Memorial Day.

See also

	Biography portal
	United States Army portal
	World War II portal

• List of Medal of Honor recipients
• List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II
• Medical Cadet Corps
• Thomas W. Bennett
• Joseph G. LaPointe, Jr.

References

1. ^ Herndon, Booton (1967). The Unlikeliest Hero. Boise, Idaho: Pacific Press Publishing Association. pp. 182. ISBN 0816320489. 
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ "Medal of Honor recipient Desmond Doss, 87, dies". http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/680/public/news706221.html. 
4. ^ Guest House named after Medal of Honor recipient, WRAMC News Releases, July 17, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-08-31.
5. ^ Piedmont Medal of Honor recipient honored with state highway designation, The Anniston Star, Michael A. Bell, August 31, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-08-31.

1. ^ Medal of Honor recipients World War II (A-F) at the United States Army Center of Military History
2. The Chattanoogan: Burial Set April 3 At National Cemetery For Medal of Honor Winner Desmond Doss (retrieved March 28, 2006)

Further reading

• Herndon, Booton (2004). The Unlikeliest Hero: The Story of Desmond T. Doss, Conscientious Objector Who Won His Nation's Highest Military Honor. Mountain View, California: Pacific Press Publishing Association. ISBN 978-0816320486. .
• Doss, Frances M. (2005). Desmond Doss: Conscientious Objector. Pacific Press Publishing Association. ISBN 978-0816321247. 
• Doss, Frances M. (1998). Desmond Doss: In God's care: The unlikeliest hero and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. The College Press. 

External links

• "Desmond Doss". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=13711681. Retrieved September 2, 2010. 
• "The Conscientious Objector (2004 film)". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0302427/. Retrieved September 29, 2010. 
• "The Documentary". http://www.desmonddoss.com/. Retrieved September 29, 2010. 
• "North America: Filmmaker Documents Story of Desmond Doss". Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor recipients. Adventist News Network. 18 November 2003. http://news.adventist.org/2003/11/orth-america-filmmaker-ocumets-story-of-esmo-oss.html. Retrieved 8 January 2010. 
• "Desmond T. Doss Junior Academy, a Seventh-Day Adventist school in Lynchburg, Virginia". http://www.desmond22.adventistschoolconnect.org/. Retrieved September 29, 2010. 

Persondata
Name	Doss, Desmond T.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 17, 1919 – March 23, 2006
Place of birth	Lynchburg, Virginia
Date of death	2006
Place of death	Piedmont, Alabama