One hundred and fifty-five soldiers went up the escarpment that day, and only 55 were able to retreat without assistance. Just one more!” How many men Doss saved that day, only God knows. All the while, Doss had only one thought. Reports of that day tell of Japanese advancing with rifles and bayonets to within a few feet of the medic, slowly lowering his men to safety, before one of the wounded could kill the enemy before they shot Doss.įor five hours Doss lowered soldier after soldier down the face of the escarpment, using little more than a tree stump to wind the top edge of the rope around. Heedless of the advancing Japanese, Desmond Doss went about the work of sending the wounded to safety. First one, then another, and another…and another. And then…amazingly…a wounded soldier appeared over the face of the escarpment.ĭangling from a rope, the wounded soldier was slowly lowered to the safety of its base as a tall medic fed the rope through his hands from the summit. At the base of the escarpment, those few soldiers who had managed to escape the onslaught could only sit helplessly by and hear the sounds of the battle as the wounded struggled to survive atop the cliff. Heedless of the shells that burst around him and the bullets directed his way, Doss tended his injured comrades. The only soldiers remaining at the top of the cliff were the wounded, the Japanese, and Desmond T. Almost immediately 75 men fell wounded, and the remaining men were forced to fall back and retreat to the base of the escarpment. Japanese soldiers swarmed out of their foxholes and caves in every direction. Enemy artillery, mortars and machine-gun fire began to rake into the ranks of Company B, 77th Infantry Division. On Saturday (the Sabbath), the tide of battle turned against the Americans.
Medal of Honor: “I just kept prayin’, Lord Please…”
Several times, while treating a wounded soldier, Desmond was so close to enemy lines, he could hear the whispering of Japanese voices. All this, while enemy bullets whizzed past and mortar shells exploded around him. He repeatedly ran into the heat of battle to treat a fallen comrade and carry him back to safety. When the cry, “medic” rang out on the battlefield, he never considered his own safety. While others were taking life, he was busy saving life. In each military operation he exhibited extraordinary dedication to his fellow men. He lived the golden rule, “…do to others what you would have them do to you…” (Matthew 7:12 NIV).ĭesmond served in combat on the islands of Guam, Leyte, and Okinawa. With kindness and gentle courtesy, he treated those who had mistreated him. And if someone fainted from heat stroke, this medic was at his side, offering his own canteen. Things began turning around when the men discovered that this quiet unassuming medic had a way to heal the blisters on their march-weary feet. One man in the barracks warned him, “Doss, as soon as we get into combat, I’ll make sure you won’t come back alive.” They viewed him with distain and called him a misfit. His refusal to carry a gun caused a lot of trouble among his fellow soldiers. As luck would have it, he was assigned to an infantry rifle company. When he joined the Army, Desmond assumed that his classification as a conscientious objector would not require him to carry a weapon. Little did he realize that three and a half years later, he would be standing on the White House lawn, receiving the nation’s highest award for his bravery and courage under fire.
On April 1, 1942, Desmond Doss joined the United States Army. Little Desmond would look at that picture and ask, “Why did Cain kill Abel? How in the world could a brother do such a thing?” In Desmond’s mind, God said, “If you love me, you won’t kill.” With that picture firmly embedded in his mind, he determined that he would never take life. Next to the words, “Thou shalt not kill” was a drawing of Cain holding a club and standing over the body of his dead brother Abel. During childhood his father had purchased a large framed picture portraying the Ten Commandments with colorful illustrations. When it came to the Ten Commandments, he applied them personally. His mother raised him as a devout Seventh-day Adventist and instilled Sabbath-keeping, nonviolence, and a vegetarian lifestyle in his upbringing. Doss, a homemaker and shoe factory worker. Desmond Doss was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, to William T.
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