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'Unlikeliest Hero' buried with 21-gun salute
msnbc.msn.com ^ | 4/4/06 | AP

Posted on 04/04/2006 4:53:25 PM PDT by paltz

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The only conscientious objector to receive a Medal of Honor in World War II has been buried at a national cemetery with a 21-gun salute, although he refused to carry a weapon while serving as an Army medic.

(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Tennessee
KEYWORDS: desmonddoss; hero; moh; no21gunsalute; threeriflevolleys
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1 posted on 04/04/2006 4:53:27 PM PDT by paltz
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To: paltz

not really an objector, just a doc. an objector wouldn't have gone.


2 posted on 04/04/2006 4:57:10 PM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: paltz

Weird, but you have to respect that. If you can't pull the trigger then you're doing everyone a favor by admitting it before TSHTF.


3 posted on 04/04/2006 4:58:00 PM PDT by Jack Black
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To: Jack Black

IIRC, Doss was a Seventh Day Adventist. Wouldn't carry weapons b/c of his religious beliefs.


4 posted on 04/04/2006 5:02:18 PM PDT by peyton randolph (As long is it does me no harm, I don't care if one worships Elmer Fudd.)
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To: paltz

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.

This Man was an unbelievable HERO. Rest in peace Pfc. Doss.


5 posted on 04/04/2006 5:08:23 PM PDT by gate2wire
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To: paltz
What kind of moron would hand the title 'Unlikeliest Hero' on the story of this great great man....??

Trained and served in RVN with many SDA/COs...my first boss in RVN was a CO and was awarded the Silver Star for facing an NVA 51 cal..he went into the kill zone three times to retrieve wounded GIs first time got his glasses shot off by a 51 round grazing his temple...

He was a tough act to follow...any one who would have called Doc Montoro an unlikely hero did not know him at all...I suspect the same and then some can be said of Mr. Desmond T. Doss Sr.

The COs who were combat medics faced down our enemies many times and did it unarmed to save wounded GIs...they did not go to Canada they did not stay in school...they did not fake injuries or psychiatric conditions to get out of doing their duty and standing up for their countrymen..and often put themselves in harms way to save them.

To call any of them 'unlikely heroes' is a gross injustice but considering how many so called Americans lined up to spit on returning veterans after RVN it is easy to see where such sentiments have their authorship and the kinds of souls this kind of cheap shot springs from...not likely Americans at least at heart.

imo
6 posted on 04/04/2006 5:12:02 PM PDT by joesnuffy (This 'Guest Worker Program' Is To Border Security as 'Campaign Finance Reform' Is To Free Speech)
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To: joesnuffy

Amen.


7 posted on 04/04/2006 5:13:40 PM PDT by gate2wire
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To: paltz
If you have any doubts that a conscientous objector can be a truly outstanding American hero...
8 posted on 04/04/2006 5:16:03 PM PDT by MosesKnows
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'Unlikeliest Hero' buried with 21-gun salute

Incorrect. Three rifle volleys not a 21-gun salute.

9 posted on 04/04/2006 5:16:49 PM PDT by A.A. Cunningham
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To: joesnuffy

He should have received multiple Medals of Honor. His citation lists at least four different days. This man was a MAN.


10 posted on 04/04/2006 5:17:42 PM PDT by gate2wire
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To: gate2wire

I thought only heads of state and the commander-in-chief got 21 guns?


11 posted on 04/04/2006 5:26:53 PM PDT by noobiangod
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To: noobiangod; A.A. Cunningham

"I thought only heads of state and the commander-in-chief got 21 guns?"

Not positive but I believe the 21 gun salute at military funerals is a misnomer. As A.A. Cunningham stated, 3 volleys are fired.

When the President goes aboard a USN vessel, 21 individual shots are fired.
I think. :-)


12 posted on 04/04/2006 5:32:09 PM PDT by gate2wire
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To: gate2wire
WOW!

Rest In Peace Pfc. Doss.

I humbly salute you.

13 posted on 04/04/2006 5:35:34 PM PDT by albee (The best thing you can do for the poor is.....not be one of them. - Eric Hoffer)
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To: gate2wire
MOH winners have both hand salute and and 21 gun salute honors due to the award.
Three volleys of seven rifles is a 21 gun salute.

Unfortunately they don't give clusters or other devices for the MOH because I agree with earlier poster that this man deserved more.

14 posted on 04/04/2006 5:36:37 PM PDT by norton
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To: albee

Amazing, isn't it.


15 posted on 04/04/2006 5:36:58 PM PDT by gate2wire
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To: norton

"Three volleys of seven rifles is a 21 gun salute."

Yes, understood, but I believe the President gets 21 individual shots. I was at the commissioning of the USS Ronald Reagan and the carrier fired 20 individual shots to salute VP Cheney. Unfortunately, I'm not positive about the protocol, so maybe I should not comment.


16 posted on 04/04/2006 5:42:20 PM PDT by gate2wire
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To: gate2wire

"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. "

Thats true faith and selflessness!


17 posted on 04/04/2006 5:47:37 PM PDT by planetpatrol
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To: paltz

I remember reading his story over 30 years ago. He didn't want to kill, but he wasn't afraid to die. A true American hero IMHO. May God rest his soul.


18 posted on 04/04/2006 5:48:50 PM PDT by appleharvey
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To: gate2wire

"...and the carrier fired 20 individual shots to salute VP Cheney."

Sorry, 19.


19 posted on 04/04/2006 5:49:32 PM PDT by gate2wire
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To: noobiangod; A.A. Cunningham; norton

"The three volleys fired at a funeral are just that, nothing more. They are not a 21-gun salute or any other gun salute. The funeral volleys are believed to have originated as an ancient superstition where firearms were discharged to frighten evil spirits away from the grave.

Why then are so many people today confused and erroneously call the three volleys a 21-gun salute? Who knows? Possibly because someone saw a seven-member detail fire three rounds at a funeral. He may have multiplied the three rounds by seven and decided that this must be a 21-gun salute. And it caught on and spread-and spread. Never mind the fact that he should have been taught at boot camp that a rifle is not a gun. Also, firing details can consist of any number of riflemen, but in years gone by the standard was eight riflemen with a noncommissioned officer in charge."
http://www.mca-marines.org/Leatherneck/21gunarch.htm


20 posted on 04/04/2006 5:53:20 PM PDT by gate2wire
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