Medal of Honor Recipient

CPL Desmond T. Doss, USA
Uncompromising Courage

Credited with saving 75 men from a wartorn escarpment atop Okinawa, CPL Doss is memorialized by his son, Desmond T. Doss Jr.

Ordinary Man—Extraordinary Sacrifice

CPL Desmond T. Doss

United States Army

World War II (Pacific War)

Years of Service: 1942–1945

1919–2006

Company B, 1st Battalion, 307th Infantry Regiment
77th Infantry Division

Medical Aidman (Combat Medic)

Served on:

Guam, Mariana Islands
Leyte Islands, Philippines
Okinawa, Japan [MOH Action]

As seen below, CPL Doss's comrades—including enlisted, non-commisisoned officers, and officers—testified to his repeated, selfless sacrifice at great risk to his life in order to save others.

Early Life and Induction into Service

Originally from Lynchburg, Virginia, Desmond Thomas Doss was drafted on April 1, 1942. Although initially offered an exemption from service due to his work at the Newport News, Virginia, shipyard, Doss believed it was a great honor to serve God and his country. From the beginning of his training in the U.S. Army, Doss faced constant ridicule and mistreatment from fellow trainees because of his decision to serve as a conscientious objector and combat medic.

Driven by Faith

During early training, he quickly learned how to care for his men, ensuring they avoided infections from blistered feet during field training exercises. During Medical Corps training, he fought to maintain the Sabbath and secure passes to attend church—succeeding even when arrested by military police on one occasion simply for attending church with an official pass. Keeping the Sabbath holy was of chief importance to him, leading to frequent battles that he usually won.

Eventually, Doss's commanding officer made a major issue of Doss's exemption to have the Sabbath—despite a division order permitting the exemption—and attempted unsuccessfully to have him deemed unfit for service. Following this, he was temporarily removed from the Medical Corps. Despite pressure to bear arms, Doss stood his ground on religious principles. He was reinstated into the Medical Corps following intervention by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall, which mandated that conscientious objectors could not be forced to bear arms.

Going Overseas

Upon landing on Guam, conditions were rainy and exceptionally muddy, and PFC Doss hardly slept during his first night in combat due to constant artillery barrages. Landing at Leyte in the Philippines, he recalled that the Japanese abandoned well-stocked artillery positions due to pre-landing naval bombardments, as well as the pitiful condition of the World War I-era K and C rations that the men relied on for survival.

During combat operations, PFC Doss and another medic braved enemy fire to rescue two wounded men, though, tragically, his friend Glenn did not survive his wounds that evening. This incident profoundly impacted PFC Doss's perspective on the critical importance of tending to wounds with maximum expediency. On another night, while anticipating a Japanese banzai attack with his unit's flamethrowers aimed across the perimeter, he exposed himself to enemy fire to answer a call for a medic, withdrawing just as advancing Japanese forces returned. In another instance, he had to jump back into his jeep when Japanese machine-gun fire opened up, holding onto the back and running alongside the vehicle until they cleared enemy range.

A defining theme of PFC Doss's service was his understanding that the difference between life and death was often a matter of minutes. When the call for a "medic" came, PFC Doss never hesitated to rush toward comrades in need, nearly killed innumerable times by enemy fire. He attributed his survival to God's protection, giving Him the ultimate glory.

Earning the Medal of Honor

Okinawa: April 29–May 21, 1945

Recalling the battle for the Maeda Escarpment (Hacksaw Ridge), PFC Doss noted how Japanese forces atop the cliff had an excellent view of American positions across the island, enabling them to call in accurate artillery fire on U.S. tanks. Prior to setting up an aid station on the plateau, PFC Doss helped establish aid stations at various levels leading up the escarpment from its base. As the only medic left in his unit, PFC Doss agreed without hesitation to be stationed atop the plateau, despite knowing the mortal danger, and took time for devotion and prayer.

Before scaling the 35-foot cliff face using a cargo net, Doss encouraged his men to pause and pray at the base, reminding them that survival was not guaranteed. Troops placed immense faith in his ability to care for them and expected him to pray for their deliverance.

Reaching the Escarpment

Upon arriving atop the escarpment, the unit was immediately pinned down by an intense fusillade of enemy fire. Compounding the danger, Company A suffered such severe casualties that they became combat ineffective, leaving PFC Doss's Company B to take the escarpment without support on their left flank.

After making progress the first day, PFC Doss and Company B returned the next morning to clear remaining Japanese positions. When explosive charges failed because enemy soldiers successfully disarmed them, the unit doused entrenched positions with nearly three dozen gallons of gasoline and ignited them with an M15 White Phosphorus Hand Grenade. The massive explosion shook the entire escarpment, yet Japanese soldiers soon emerged from camouflaged positions in numbers equal to PFC Doss's unit, forcing a retreat.

Because many wounded men could not descend the cargo net, PFC Doss improvised a single-rope setup—modifying a system used for ammunition resupply—tied to a tree stump. Using double bowline knots around each wounded man's legs and waist, he lowered them down the cliff one by one. Facing the daunting task of evacuating all 75 wounded men, PFC Doss continuously prayed:

"Lord, please help me get one more."

CPL Doss, standing atop the Maeda Escarpment, from the American side.

Evacuation and Recognition

Later, while crawling in the dark with men ordered to fix bayonets without loaded ammunition in order to maintain stealth, PFC Doss was struck by a grenade in his lower body and lost significant blood, forcing him to treat himself for shock at daybreak. When fellow soldiers attempted evacuation, PFC Doss insisted they first take another soldier with a head wound. When they returned, PFC Doss could not be found where he was left and was temporarily marked as killed in action (KIA). While another soldier helped him walk toward safety, a sniper struck PFC Doss left arm, shattering three bones. In total, PFC Doss was wounded four times.

While recovering at the field hospital with 17 shrapnel fragments in his lower body and a cast on his arm, local newspapers back home initially reported him as KIA. However, because PFC Doss had written his mother about being wounded and heading home, she informed the community, allowing the newspaper to issue a correction.

Wounded but Unbroken

These three documents detail the extent of PFC Doss's wounds.

Uncompromising Valor Confirmed

Receiving the Medal of Honor

For his extraordinary heroism, CPL Doss was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman, who remarked that he would rather receive the Medal of Honor than be President of the United States.

President Truman presents the Medal of Honor to CPL Doss at a White House ceremony on October 12, 1945.

A Legacy Kept Alive

Today, CPL Doss's son, Desmond T. Doss Jr., continues visiting and speaking with communities, carrying forward a message of selflessly serving other people, one person at a time.

"You don't have to go to war to be a hero."