Desmond Thomas Doss 1919 - 2006

Pictured in the 1961 Forest Lake Academy (Apopka, Florida, USA) yearbook is Congressional Medal of Honor winner, Desmond T. Doss, with Chaplain James, demonstrating his rescue knot.

A photo of the Bible that Desmond Doss carried in World War II. This may be a small photo, but it is the actual Bible. Doss lost it during the battle at Okinawa but his fellow soldiers, at great risk, went back and found it for him.

Dorothy and Desmond Doss on their wedding day.

A colorized photo of Desmond Doss who was the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor.

A photo of Desmond Doss holding a white feather. In World War 1 Great Britain, white feathers were sent to men who were considered cowards. In World War 2, in the United States, white feathers came to symbolize peace and courage.

A photo of Dorothy and Desmond Doss added to Find A Grave by Kevin Mansfield - Color version of this photo courtesy of Paul Reynolds Photo Colourisations.

A photo of Desmond Doss, his wife Dorothy, his mother-in-law Elsie, and his son - Desmond Doss Jr.

A photo of Desmond Doss and his wife, Dorothy, who married in 1942. They had one son, Desmond T. Doss, Jr.

A photo of Desmond Doss and his wife, Dorothy (Schutte) Doss. They were married at the beginning of World War II (1942) and remained married until her death in 1991.

A photo of Desmond Doss receiving the Medal of Honor from President Truman. He was the first conscientious objector to receive a Medal of Honor. Only two more have been awarded to conscientious objectors - both of them were in the Viet Nam war.

A photo of Desmond Doss (at the top) at Hacksaw Ridge. Later, he had to lower injured soldiers down the same ridge, one by one.

A photo of Desmond Doss during World War II. He was a medic in Company B, 1st Battalion, 307th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division and the first conscientious objector to receive a Medal of Honor.

A photo of Desmond Doss in the hospital after being injured at Hacksaw Ridge and subsequent fighting. He lost 5 ribs, was shot in the arm by a sniper, contracted TB (and lost his hearing, due to being overdosed with antibiotics) and spent 5+ years in VA hospitals.

A photo of Desmond Doss in 1966 with his Medal of Honor. He also received 2 Bronze Stars and 3 Purple Hearts for his service during World War II.

A photo of Desmond Doss and President Truman (after Doss received the Medal of Honor).

This is what the certificate says:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Private First Class Desmond Thomas Doss, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty from April 29 – 21 May 1945, while serving with the Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division, in action at Urasoe Mura, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands. Private First Class Doss 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 machine gun 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 all 75 casualties 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 May 2, 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 eight 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 May 5, 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 May 21, 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, by a sniper bullet while being carried off the field by a comrade, 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 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.