[April 16, 2020] It has been simply too long since I wrote an article about a hero. It goes without saying that we still need heroes, especially in our modern world. We need heroes precisely because they define the limits of our ideals, hopes. and dreams. That is precisely what U.S. Army Private Desmond Doss has done for us. His courage and honor on the battlefield allow us to see what we value most.
Desmond Doss grew up with a strong religious influence. A devout Seventh Day Adventist Christian meant that he carefully observed the Sabbath and nonviolence. According to his friends, Doss hated guns of all sorts as a child. He was working in the Newport News shipyard in Virginia when World War II broke out and was given a deferment because of this work. But he declined it and joined the U.S. Army.
From the beginning, Doss ran into problems with his peers and supervisors. He staunchly believed in the Bible and the idea that “Thou shalt not kill.”1 He had volunteered to be a medic (and thus not carry a weapon) but was assigned to an Infantry Rifle company, so they believed he would quit. Eventually, he convinced his supervisors to allow him to train as a medic. Finally, he was assigned to the 77th Infantry Division and shipped to the Pacific theater of war.
He was a fearless combat medical soldier who did not care for his life while tending to the injured on the battlefield. He earned a reputation of going fearlessly into the battlefield to help and evacuate his wounded comrades without bothering much about the flying bullets or exploding shells around him.2
While earning a reputation as a fearless medic, Doss is best known for his action on Hacksaw Ridge during the attack on the Japanese-held island of Okinawa. The battle for the ridge was fierce, and the enemy attacked the American forces mercilessly. However, without regard to his own safety, Doss tended to the injured soldiers and single-handedly lowered 75 men to safety.
On October 12, 1945, Corporal Desmond Doss was presented with the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman. This nation’s highest award for gallantry in combat was the first and only MoH given to a conscientious objector. The award’s citation is here.
Desmond Doss is a true American hero. Being a humble and religious man, he denied his hero status but was proud to save so many from certain death.
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Unflinching belief in Jesus Christ. What an example to follow. There aren’t many who could say they saved one life, let alone 75. His kind come along very rarely.
May he rest in eternal peace. ✝️🤲❤
Stories about heroes is one of those that I’ve appreciated and loved to hear all my life. From the time I was a little kid, my dad would tell me about his buddies in the Korean War and how they did things of bravery that just made me want to be exactly like them.
A real hero shows us what is the best in humans. Mostly, bravery, humility, and (yes,) fear. Fear is overcome and that is the whole idea.
And here is an article that supports what you are saying Bryan. Thanks.
“What defines a hero? Are all heroes heroic?”
https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-200926,00.html
Hi Greg. The article didn’t really add much to my understanding of the idea of a hero. There are many websites that publish what people ‘think’ is such and such and this is one of them. Not very informative. Here is a link to a Psychology Today article that does a better job of it. They are a leftist magazine so remember that when reading it. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/happiness-in-world/201009/what-makes-hero
Gen. Satterfield listed an article in his Daily Favorites section that is pretty good and worth reading. He also has a song linked that is also great.
Good catch, Mikka. I sure appreciate the note. Good stuff throughout this blog, so I recommend we take the time to cruise thru its ocean.
Your series on heroes is a godsend. Thank you so very much General Satterfield.
In an article yesterday by KC Johnson titled “Joe Biden’s Double Standard”, he put forth the idea that US Pres candidate Joe Biden once called women who make sexual harassment accusations against powerful men as ‘heroes.’ Now Joe Biden is being accused of sexual harassment. But now things have changed. This is an example of the misuse of the term ‘hero’ and we are all worse off for it.
https://www.city-journal.org/biden-campaign-due-process
Excellent observation, JT. This is not the first time that slo Joe Biden has stepped in it. Of course, I feel sorry for the guy. He’s like the old nursing home guy who can’t find his teeth next to his bed. But Biden is running for the most powerful leadership position in the world. What gives. Can’t people see what’s happening here?
Heroes are real. D. Doss is one of them. I’m glad he also survived the war. He was a hero in more than one instance. I highly recommend folks read up on what he did in the rest of the war and after.
Yes, Ken and here is a good summary, “DESMOND DOSS BIOGRAPHY”.
https://www.goodreadbiography.com/desmond-doss-biography/
Desmond Doss is credited with saving 75 soldiers during one of the bloodiest battles of World War II in the Pacific — and he did it without ever carrying a weapon. The battle at Hacksaw Ridge, on the island of Okinawa, was a close combat fight with heavy weaponry. Thousands of American and Japanese soldiers were killed, and the fact that Doss survived the battle and saved so many lives has confounded and awed those who know his story.
From the article, thanks apache2.
Desmond Doss, true hero. Bravery accounts for a lot to Americans and most other societies. That is so because it represents action in the face of great harm. It also shows us what we can do even when we (and others) don’t think it can be done.
Max, below, wrote about the fact that our news media is degrading the concept of ‘hero.’ With him, I must agree fully. I say that because too many fall into lockstep with our news media. I do not trust them and neither do the American peoples. I would hope more lose faith in our media to tell us the truth. They simply cannot do it. Just watch CNN, MSNBC, or any of them; frankly they are unAmerican. Oh, they can be, it’s their right but also my right to call them out.
Good comment Kenny. Best of the day for me. Yes, it is true that our new media has fallen from their high-water mark in the mid-twentieth century to simple yellow journalism of today. No one trusts them that has any brainpower.
Desmond Doss is a real hero and no amount of degrading by the tv or radio will change that.
Yes, Harry and I’m a bit surprised that the media didn’t try to shoot the movie – Hacksaw Ridge – down because it shows a real hero, not the fake heroes of the media. And, to lessen your regards for me, when I say “fake” I mean it in the lowest sense.
We all got a little introduction to Pvt Doss in the film Hacksaw Ridge. Good movie that deserves watching again and again.
I saw the movie last year on tv and found it awesome! Doss was, indeed, a true hero.
I think we can all agree that someone like US Army private Desmond Doss is a real hero. But today, in our media, we too often degrade the term by overusing it and using it in inappropriate situations. Our news media degrades our culture at every turn. I agree with you Army Captain that most of us were introduced to Doss in the film but for those of us who study heroes, we’d known about him for a long time.
Great comment Max and especially about our falling, failing news media that corrupts our culture.
Yes, well written for us, Max. Thank you.
Yes, excellent movie, one of the best war movies in a long time.