Heroes in spandex need not apply

Rating: 10/10 (20 November 2016)

If there is one thing I could take away from this movie it is to beware of criticizing people different from your beliefs and values. The very values they embrace (and which you criticize), may one day save your life.
Growing up in the Adventist culture I met Desmond twice, once at a youth retreat, and another time I had lunch with him and family. They (Doss, wife, and son) were in a hospital cafeteria. They were sitting at a table for four and I asked if I could join them. They were more than happy for me to sit with them. I didn't recognize him at first, but his wife let me know who he was :)
He was a very gracious and quiet man. He did his duty without hesitation or regard for his own safety or an iota of self-interest. His courage and commitment to duty far outweighed any gun he might have holstered. The fact he was never killed in the line of duty is a miracle. The many, many lives he saved, amazingly even more so.
The part that got me the most in the film was when he started sending men down the escarpment in his (unofficial) double bowline custom knot. The soldiers watching didn't know what was going on, then they realized it was "Doss, the coward". No greater love hath a man that lays down his life for his friends - such act speaks louder and stronger than any sermon or speech given by politician or preacher. It transcends religion or ideology. It is the essence of what it means to be a loving human being.
To Mel and the crew, thank you for sharing what it truly means to be a hero. So different than the fantasy spandex 'heroes' of our popular culture.