Desmond was a family friend and a great guy. I miss him.
RIP Old Friend.
DOSS, DESMOND T.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Urasoe Mura, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 29 April-21 May 1945. Entered service at: Lynchburg, Va. Birth: Lynchburg, Va. G.O. No.: 97, 1 November 1945.
Citation: He was a company aid man when the 1st Battalion assaulted a jagged escarpment 400 feet 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 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 2 May, he exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire in rescuing a wounded man 200 yards 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 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 5 May, 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 from the enemy position, rendered aid, and carried him 100 yards to safety while continually exposed to enemy fire. On 21 May, 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, 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 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.
Watched the trailer this morning. Looks REALLY good.
Gibson will deliver, as usual.
“That’s just not who we are.” /s
Will see this one on the BIG screen.
Thanks for posting.
Bump
M4L
Glad to see him called a MoH WINNER—the correct term—rather than a “recipient”—as in “welfare recipient.”
For later.
L
“Mel Gibson is nuts but he’s a hell of a director.”
Truth. I think he’s potentially one of the greats, a swashbuckler like John Huston...if he wants to be. Most directors are probably disturbed in some way. Great artists often are.
Damn! Braveheart is my favorite movie.
I think it’s got competition! I’ll go to the theater for this one!!!! I went all girl and got major teary eyed during the dang trailer.
Mel Gibson is one of my favorite actors. All that tabloid junk has NEVER bothered me. Like me, he’s no angel but I still like the man.
How is Gibson “nuts”? Just because he said some dumb things while drunk? Hardly the first. It’s ridiculous what this genius has been put through.
Finally, a movie for adults. Not a superhero costume in sight (unless you count Army green). I guess I’ll slouch out of my cave come November—hopefully amidst the glow of a recent Trump victory.