Desmond T. Doss, MOH recipient
Posted on 03/24/2011 4:54:22 PM PDT by jazusamo
Desmond T. Doss was 23 years old when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942. The lanky Lynchburg, Va., native was much like other young men of the Greatest Generation, but one thing set Desmond apart from the other new troops. He was a devout Seventh Day Adventist and refused to touch a weapon. Some of the men in his training unit made jokes about him, others threatened him, but Desmond held firm to his beliefs.
The Army considered discharging him, but Desmond objected. “I’d be a very poor Christian if I accepted a discharge implying that I was mentally off because of my religion,” he told the review board. “I’m sorry, gentlemen, but I can’t accept that kind of a discharge.” He was granted conscientious objector status and the former cabinetmaker trained as a medic. Desmond was assigned to the 307th Infantry Regiment of the 77th Infantry Division and sent to the Pacific theater. In 1944, he participated in the amphibious assault on Guam and tended to wounded soldiers though two weeks of hard jungle fighting. After the island was secured, Desmond was awarded the bronze star.
After several more combat landings, the 77th faced its most deadly challenge in Operation Iceberg, the battle for Okinawa. The battle began on April 1, 1945, and the “Typhoon of Steel” quickly became one of the highest casualty engagements of the war. Japanese defenders resisted to the last man from a system of cave complexes and underground tunnels. By the end of April, Army and Marine forces had become bogged down before formidable enemy defenses along a 400-foot-high jagged ridgeline called the Maeda Escarpment. The 307th Infantry Regiment was assigned to storm the ridgeline and break the back of the Japanese position.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Desmond T. Doss, MOH recipient
What a wonderful story about a beautiful and courageous man. Thanks for posting.
Heroism, almost beyond belief.
Wow thanks for posting this,A great man,Sir RIP.
Awesome story...Thanks for the post!
There should be a lot more stories like this in the paper.
A true hero. I met this man in the fall of 2003 at his home on the east side of Lookout Mountain.
I was building a home on Lookout Mountain and noticed the highway named in his honor near Fort Oglethorpe, GA. “The Desmond T. Doss Memorial Highway”.
My wife and I drove into his yard one afternoon and he was sitting on the porch. We chatted for about 45 minutes. A more humble person I have never met. He never mentioned the MOH. He and his wife seemed glad to have company. He had one of those Cochlear ear implants (like Limbaugh) and was a bit hard of hearing. The pain meds had almost ruined his sense of hearing years before.
I realized I had been in the presence of not only a true hero but an amazing human being. I’ll never forget that afternoon.
Amen to that.
Thank you for relating your visit with Mr. & Mrs. Doss.
I’ve read a fair number of accounts of Medal of Honor recipients and for the vast majority they are portrayed as being very humble about their heroism.
Bless them all.
I think it’s about time somebody compiled a book on all these heroes. Our children and grandchildren will never hear about them.
Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty
Yes, thank you for relating the story of your visit with the Doss’s; and thank you, too, for taking the time to visit them. People miss a lot now by being in too big a hurry.
Oh, thank you for that info.
Wars about wars.
We had the 1-A-O designation right up to the end of the draft in 1972. I was one of them, drafted and sent to Fort Sam Houston for “MBT,” or Modified Basic Training, and then we all trained as 91A (medics).
Life is strange. As time went on, I drifted away from the pacifistic aspects of the Mennonite side of my family, and 30 years later, my son signed up and went to Iraq 4 times with 5th Group Special Forces.
In the generation before me (the WWII generation), one of my uncles shunned the Objector route and joined the Army, earning himself excommunication from his church. He went on to win the Distinguished Service Medal in Normandy.
I don’t regret taking the route I did, those were the convictions I held at the time, and this wonderful country, the citizens of this best nation ever, respected those like me enough to provide a way for us to serve without contradicting those convictions. My views have changed, nowadays I would not ask for the 1-A-O, but that’s where I was at the time.
I admire people with convictions as long as they don’t use them to avoid service to our country, especially in time of need. I salute you, your son and family for your service!
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