Desmond Doss - wikipedia Desmond Doss Desmond Doss Doss about to receive the Medal of Honor in October 1945 Birth name Desmond Thomas Doss Nickname ( s ) Preacher ( 1919 - 02 - 07 ) February 7, 1919 Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S. March 23, 2006 ( 2006 - 03 - 23 ) ( aged 87 ) Piedmont, Alabama, U.S. Allegiance United States Service / branch United States Army Army Medical Service Years of service 1942 -- 1946 Rank Corporal Service number 33158036 Unit B Company, 1st Battalion, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division Battles / wars World War II Battle of Guam Battle of Leyte Battle of Okinawa Awards Medal of Honor Bronze Star Medal ( 1 OLC & `` V '' ) Purple Heart ( 2 OLC ) Spouse ( s ) Dorothy Schutte ( m. 1942 ; d. 1991 ) Frances Duman ( m. 1993 ) Children Desmond Thomas Doss ( February 7, 1919 -- March 23, 2006 ) was a United States Army corporal who served as a combat medic with an infantry company in World War II. He was twice awarded the Bronze Star Medal for actions in Guam and the Philippines. Doss further distinguished himself for service above and beyond the call of duty in the Battle of Okinawa by saving 75 men at considerable personal risk, becoming the only conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor during World War II. His life has been the subject of books, the documentary The Conscientious Objector, and the critically acclaimed 2016 film Hacksaw Ridge. Contents 1 Early life 2 World War II service 2.1 Subsequent life 3 Awards and decorations 3.1 Medal of Honor citation 4 Other honors and recognition 5 In popular culture 5.1 Television and cinema 5.2 Print 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links Early Life Desmond Doss was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, to William Thomas Doss ( 1893 -- 1989 ), a carpenter, and Bertha Edward Doss ( née Oliver ) ( 1899 -- 1983 ), a homemaker and shoe factory worker. His mother raised him as a devout Seventh - day Adventist and instilled Sabbath - keeping, nonviolence, and a vegetarian lifestyle in his upbringing. He grew up in the Fairview Heights area of Lynchburg, Virginia, alongside his older sister Audrey and younger brother Harold. Doss attended the Park Avenue Seventh - day Adventist Church school until the eighth grade, and subsequently found a job at the Lynchburg Lumber Company to support his family during the Great Depression. World War II service Before the outbreak of World War II, Doss was employed as a joiner at a shipyard in Newport News, Virginia. Doss entered military service, despite being offered a deferment for his shipyard work, on April 1, 1942, at Camp Lee, Virginia. He was sent to Fort Jackson in South Carolina for training with the reactivated 77th Infantry Division. Meanwhile, his brother Harold served aboard the USS Lindsey. Doss refused to kill an enemy soldier or carry a weapon into combat because of his personal beliefs as a Seventh - day Adventist. He consequently became a medic assigned to 2nd Platoon, B Company, 1st Battalion, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division. While serving with his platoon in 1944 on Guam and the Philippines, he was awarded two Bronze Star Medals with a `` V '' device, for exceptional valor in aiding wounded soldiers under fire. During the Battle of Okinawa, he saved the lives of 75 wounded infantrymen atop the area known by the 96th Division as the Maeda Escarpment or Hacksaw Ridge. Doss was wounded four times in Okinawa, and was evacuated on May 21, 1945, aboard the USS Mercy. Doss suffered a left arm fracture from a sniper 's bullet and at one point had seventeen pieces of shrapnel embedded in his body. He was subsequently awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Okinawa. Subsequent Life Doss post-war After the war, Doss initially planned to continue his career in carpentry, but extensive damage to his arm left him unable to do so. In 1946, Doss was diagnosed with tuberculosis, which he had contracted on Leyte. He subsequently underwent treatment for five and a half years -- which cost him a lung and five ribs -- before being discharged from the hospital in August 1951 with 90 % disability. Doss continued to receive treatment from the military, but after an overdose of antibiotics rendered him completely deaf in 1976, he was given 100 % disability ; he was able to regain his hearing after receiving a cochlear implant in 1988. Despite the severity of his injuries, Doss managed to raise a family on a small farm in Rising Fawn, Georgia. Doss married Dorothy Pauline Schutte on August 17, 1942, and they had one child, Desmond `` Tommy '' Doss Jr., born in 1946. Dorothy died on November 17, 1991, from a car accident. Doss remarried on July 1, 1993, to Frances May Duman. After being hospitalized for difficulty breathing, Doss died on March 23, 2006, at his home in Piedmont, Alabama. He was buried on April 3, 2006, in the National Cemetery in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Awards and decorations Doss ' awards include : Combat Medical Badge Medal of Honor Bronze Star Medal with one Oak leaf cluster and `` V '' Device Purple Heart with two Oak leaf Clusters Army Good Conduct Medal American Campaign Medal Asiatic -- Pacific Campaign Medal with arrowhead device and three ​ ⁄ '' bronze stars World War II Victory Medal Philippine Liberation Medal with one ​ ⁄ '' bronze service star Army Presidential Unit Citation Meritorious Unit Commendation 77th Infantry Division SSI - FWTS 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. Corporal Doss receiving the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman on October 12, 1945 Corporal Doss posing for the White House press corps, October 12, 1945 Doss on top of the Maeda Escarpment, May 4, 1945 The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of The Congress the MEDAL OF HONOR to PRIVATE FIRST CLASS DESMOND T. DOSS UNITED STATES ARMY for service as set forth in the following Citation : Private First Class Desmond T. Doss, United States Army, Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division. Near Urasoe - Mura, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 29 April -- 21 May 1945. 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. Private First Class Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire - swept area with the many stricken, carrying them 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 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 two days later he treated four men who had been cut down while assaulting a strongly defended cave, advancing through a shower of grenades to within eight yards of enemy forces in a cave 's mouth, where he dressed his comrades ' wounds before making four 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, Private First Class 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 five hours before litter bearers reached him and started carrying him to cover. The trio was caught in an enemy tank attack and Private First Class 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 one 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 Private First Class 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. October 12, 1945 THE WHITE HOUSE Other honors and recognition Desmond Doss ( left ) at the Georgia State Capitol on March 20, 2000 after being presented a special resolution sponsored by state representative Randy Sauder ( right ) Doss Hall renaming ceremony A portion of US Route 501 near Peaks View Park is named `` Pfc. Desmond T. Doss Memorial Expressway. '' Local veterans of the area honor him by decorating the signs marking this portion of road several times during the year, particularly around patriotic holidays. In 1951, Camp Desmond T. Doss was created in Grand Ledge, Michigan to help train young Seventh - day Adventist men for service in the military. The camp was active throughout the Korean and Vietnam wars before the property was sold in 1988. In the early 1980s, a school in Lynchburg was renamed Desmond T. Doss Christian Academy. The school was founded by the Lynchburg Seventh - Day Adventist Church, the home church of Desmond Doss during his years in Lynchburg. The church wanted to honor Doss for standing strong in his faith despite facing great adversity. Doss visited the school that bears his name three times before his death. 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. '' On March 20, 2000, Doss appeared before the Georgia House of Representatives and was presented a special resolution honoring his heroic accomplishments on behalf of the country. On July 4, 2004, a statue of Doss was dedicated at the National Museum of Patriotism in Atlanta, Georgia, which remained until the museum 's closure in July 2010. In May 2007, a statue of Doss was dedicated at Veterans Memorial Park in Collegedale, Tennessee. In July 2008, the guest house at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., was renamed Doss Memorial Hall. On August 30, 2008, a two - mile stretch of Alabama Highway 9 in Piedmont was named the `` Desmond T. Doss Sr. Memorial Highway. '' On October 25, 2016, the City of Lynchburg, Virginia, awarded a plaque in his honor to Desmond T. Doss Christian Academy. On February 7, 2017, PETA posthumously honored Doss with a Hero to Animals award in recognition of his lifelong commitment to vegetarianism. In popular culture Television and cinema On February 18, 1959, Doss appeared on the Ralph Edwards NBC TV show This Is Your Life. Doss is the subject of The Conscientious Objector, an award - winning documentary by Terry Benedict in 2004. The feature film Hacksaw Ridge, based on his life, was produced by Terry Benedict and directed by Mel Gibson. The film was released nationwide in the U.S. on November 4, 2016 to positive reviews. Doss is portrayed by Andrew Garfield, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. Desmond 's wife, Dorothy, is played by Teresa Palmer. Doss was profiled in a three part TV series by It Is Written in November 2016. Print Doss was featured in the Medal of Honor Special comic written by Doug Murray and published by Dark Horse Comics. The comic was a special edition of the series Medal of Honor, published April 1, 1994. The title was sanctioned by the United States Congressional Medal of Honor Society. The issue features Corporal Desmond Doss along with another Medal of Honor recipient, Lieutenant Charles Q. Williams. Doss is the subject of four biographical books : The Unlikeliest Hero ; The Story of Desmond T. Doss, Conscientious Objector Who Won His Nation 's Highest Military Honor, 2004 by Booton Herndon Desmond Doss Conscientious Objector : The Story of an Unlikely Hero, 2015 by Francess M Doss Redemption At Hacksaw Ridge : The Gripping True Story That Inspired The Movie, 2016 by Booton Herndon The Birth of Hacksaw Ridge : How It All Began, 2017 by Gregory Crosby and Gene Church Doss has been featured in major publications and media including : Time Magazine NPR People Magazine Library of Congress Pritzker Military Museum & Library See also Biography portal United States Army portal World War II portal List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II Medical Cadet Corps Thomas W. Bennett Joseph G. LaPointe Jr. Gary M. Rose Notes Jump up ^ Conscientious objectors Thomas W. Bennett and Joseph G. LaPointe Jr. were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. Jump up ^ Although the exact number is unknown, estimates range from 50 to 100 since 55 of the 155 soldiers involved in the action were able to retreat without assistance. References Jump up ^ `` William Thomas Doss ''. Geni.com. Retrieved July 28, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Bertha Edward Doss ''. Geni.com. Retrieved July 28, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Desmond T. Doss ''. collegedale-americanlegion.org. Retrieved November 20, 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` The True Story of Hacksaw Ridge and Desmond Doss : the Medal of Honor Winner Who Never Fired a Shot ''. People. November 5, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Desmond Doss, an American hero ''. November 5, 2016. Jump up ^ Military.com, `` Seventh - Day Adventist Saved Fellow Soldiers on Sabbath ''. Archived from the original on August 11, 2001. Retrieved 2017 - 05 - 19. CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown ( link ) Retrieved January 10, 2017. Jump up ^ `` The Conscientious Objector ''. March 2004. Jump up ^ `` WWII Army Enlistment Records ''. National Archives. Retrieved June 30, 2005. Jump up ^ `` In Memory of Harold Edward Doss ''. Brown Funeral Home. Retrieved August 1, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Who was Desmond Doss of Hacksaw Ridge ''. Bibleinfo.com. Retrieved December 2, 2016. Jump up ^ `` bronze star Archives - Faith Of Doss ''. Faith Of Doss. Retrieved September 25, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Desmond T. Doss ''. HomeOfHeroes.com. Retrieved January 10, 2017. Jump up ^ Appleman ; Burns ; Giegler ; Stevens. `` Chapter XI Assaulting The Second Shuri Defense Ring ''. HyperWar : US Army in WWII : Okinawa : The Last Battle. Retrieved June 3, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Private First Class Desmond T. Doss Interview ''. March 20, 1987. ^ Jump up to : `` Hacksaw Ridge ( 2016 ) ''. HistoryvsHollywood.com. Retrieved November 7, 2016. Jump up ^ Herndon, Booton ( 1967 ). The Unlikeliest Hero. Boise, Idaho : Pacific Press Publishing Association. p. 182. ISBN 0 - 8163 - 2048 - 9. Jump up ^ `` This is Your Life -- Desmond Doss ''. February 18, 1959. Jump up ^ `` Lauded Conscientious Objector Desmond T. Doss Sr ''. March 26, 2006. Jump up ^ Richard Goldstein ( March 25, 2006 ). `` Desmond T. Doss, 87, Heroic War Objector, Dies ''. New York Times. Retrieved June 16, 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` ' Unlikeliest Hero ' buried with 21 - gun salute ''. Associated Press. NBC News. April 4, 2006. Jump up ^ Herndon, Booton ( 2016 ). Redemption at Hacksaw Ridge. Remnant Publications. p. Foreword. ISBN 978 - 1 - 629131 - 55 - 9. Jump up ^ `` The Medal of Honor ''. desmonddoss.com. Retrieved July 31, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Memorial ride honors Lynchburg military hero Desmond Doss ''. November 2, 2016. Jump up ^ Judy Putnam ( February 28, 2017 ). `` Camp Doss in Grand Ledge named for war hero in ' Hacksaw Ridge ' ''. Lansing State Journal. Retrieved March 1, 2017. Jump up ^ `` History of Desmond Doss ''. Desmond T. Doss Christian Academy. Retrieved August 16, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Remembering visits from Mr. Desmond T. Doss, the man for whom our school is named -- Desmond T. Doss Christian Academy ''. May 17, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Walker County ''. Calhoun Times. September 1, 2004. p. 108. Retrieved April 26, 2015. Jump up ^ `` HR 206 -- Doss, Desmond T. ; invite to House -- Fulltext ''. March 14, 2000. Jump up ^ `` Desmond Doss Sculpture Unveiled at Veterans Memorial Park ''. Adventist Review. uccsda.org. May 14, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Guest House named after Medal of Honor recipient ''. WRAMC News Releases. July 17, 2008. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2008. Jump up ^ Debra Flax ( May 26, 2013 ). `` Warrior without a weapon : Remembering Desmond Doss Sr ''. The Anniston Star. Retrieved November 22, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Desmond Doss ' Hacksaw Ridge Heroics and School Honored ''. October 30, 2016. Jump up ^ `` PETA awards Lynchburg hero Desmond Doss the Hero to Animals award ''. February 7, 2017. Jump up ^ `` This Is Your Life Episode List ''. Jim Davidson 's Classic TV Info. Retrieved September 12, 2016. Jump up ^ `` The Conscientious Objector ''. imdb.com. Retrieved January 29, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Series on the Hero of Hacksaw Ridge ''. Hope Channel. October 31, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Medal of Honor Special ''. Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved September 17, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Medal of Honor Special ''. Pritzker Military Museum & Library. Retrieved September 17, 2014. Jump up ^ Doss, Francess M. ( 22 September 2015 ). `` Desmond Doss Conscientious Objector : The Story of an Unlikely Hero ''. Pacific Press Publishing Association -- via Amazon. Jump up ^ Herndon, Booton ( 1 November 2016 ). `` Redemption At Hacksaw Ridge : The Gripping True Story That Inspired The Movie ''. Remnant Publications -- via Amazon. Jump up ^ Crosby, Gregory ( 13 November 2017 ). `` The Birth of Hacksaw Ridge : How It All Began ''. Make - Believe Entertainment -- via Blurb. Jump up ^ Berman, Eliza ( November 3, 2016 ). `` The True Story Behind ' Hacksaw Ridge ' ''. Time. Jump up ^ `` The Real ' Hacksaw Ridge ' Soldier Saved 75 Souls Without Ever Carrying A Gun ''. NPR. November 4, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Desmond Thomas Doss collection : Veterans History Project ( Library of Congress ''. memory.loc.gov. October 26, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Beyond glory : Medal of Honor heroes in their own words : extraordinary stories of courage from World War II to Vietnam ''. pritzkermilitary.org. Retrieved October 1, 2017. Further reading Herndon, Booton ( 2016 ). Hero of Hacksaw Ridge : The Gripping True Story That Inspired the Movie. Cold Water, Michigan : Remnant Publications. ISBN 978 - 1 - 629131 - 54 - 2. Leepson, Marc ( 2008 ), `` Wonder Man of Okinawa, '' Military History magazine, September / October 2008, Vol. 25, No. 4. 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 - 0 - 8163 - 2048 - 6. Doss, Frances M. ( 2005 ). Desmond Doss : Conscientious Objector. Pacific Press Publishing Association. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8163 - 2124 - 7. Doss, Frances M. ( 1998 ). Desmond Doss : In God 's care : The unlikeliest hero and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. The College Press. Smith, Larry ( 2003 ). Beyond Glory : Medal of Honor Heroes in Their Own Words. Norton. ISBN 039305134X. External links `` Official Desmond Doss Website ''. Retrieved July 28, 2016. Desmond Doss at Find a Grave `` The Conscientious Objector ( 2004 film ) ''. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved September 29, 2010. `` North America : Filmmaker Documents Story of Desmond Doss ''. Adventist News Network. November 18, 2003. `` Desmond T. Doss Christian Academy, a Seventh - Day Adventist school in Lynchburg, Virginia ''. Retrieved September 29, 2010. `` Obituaries : Desmond Thomas Doss, Sr., MOH ''. Retrieved May 8, 2016. ^ `` Medal of Honor recipients World War II ( A -- F ) ''. United States Army Center of Military History `` Burial Set April 3 At National Cemetery For Medal of Honor Winner Desmond Doss ''. The Chattanoogan. Leepson, Marc ( 2015 ). `` Desmond Thomas Doss ( 1919 -- 2006 ) '', Dictionary of Virginia Biography, Library of Virginia ( 1998 -- ) Soper, Matthew ( April 2002 ). `` Desmond Doss : A War Hero Without a Gun ''. Incredible People Magazine. VIAF : 9259404 LCCN : n2005067973 IATH : w69321j0 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Desmond_Doss&oldid=816070168 '' Categories : 1919 births 2006 deaths People from Lynchburg, Virginia American Seventh - day Adventists American Christian pacifists Combat medics United States Army soldiers American military personnel who served in the Pacific theatre of World War II United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Conscientious objector Medal of Honor recipients People from the Anniston -- Oxford metropolitan area People from Piedmont, Alabama World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor Hidden categories : CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown Find a Grave template with ID same as Wikidata Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Български Català Čeština Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Magyar മലയാളം Bahasa Melayu 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский کوردی Suomi Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 19 December 2017, at 01 : 55. 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Question: what religion was the man in hacksaw ridge
Answer: Seventh-day Adventist