Desmond T.

Doss
The Soldier and his SWORD

Desmond struggled through the pain to clear his mind

and reconcile himself to his surroundings. He was on a
hospital ship just off the coast of Okinawa. Every inch
of his lean frame hurt, he was covered with bandages,
and he knew he had a compound fracture in one
arm. As the fog cleared in his mind he thought of his
Bible, the one his wife had presented to him on their
wedding day. That Bible had sustained him though the
months of training when he had been the brunt of
ridicule and hate among his fellow soldiers. It had been
his constant comfort through the months of combat at
Guam, Leyte, and Okinawa. He reached slowly to the
shirt pocket where he had always carried it. The Bible
was gone...lost somewhere on the top of the Maeda
Escarpment beside the blood that had leaked from his
shattered body. "Please," he begged someone nearby,
"get word back to my men. I've lost my Bible."

It had been almost a month since that "miracle

morning" when Doss had prayed and the men of
Company B had taken the escarpment. During the
period Doss had been busy. The Japanese were not
willing to easily relinquish control of their rocky
fortress, and many battles had followed the April 29th
initial assault. The nature of the escarpment with its
caves and tunnels made it possible for the enemy to hide
from the Americans who struggled to control the top,
then sneak out in the dark of night. Three days after the
initial assault Doss had braved a hail of enemy rifle and
mortar fire to rush 200 yards forward of the lines to
rescue a wounded soldier. Two days later four soldiers
who were assaulting an enemy gun emplacement
fell. Desmond ignored the rain of enemy grenades
around him to rush to their aid. Moving to within 8
yards of the mouth of the cave from which the enemy
had cut down his fellow soldiers, Doss made 4 separate
trips to reach and rescue the wounded.

Medal of Honor Day

On May 5th the tide of battle turned against the
Americans. Enemy artillery, mortars and machinegun
fire began to rake into the ranks of Company B, 77th
Infantry Division. Japanese soldiers swarmed out of
their foxholes and caves in every direction. Almost
immediately 75 men fell wounded, and the remaining
men were forced to fall back and retreat to the base of
the escarpment. The only soldiers remaining at the top
of the cliff were the wounded, the Japanese, and
Desmond T. Doss.

Heedless of the shells that burst around him and the

bullets directed his way, Desmond tended his injured
comrades. At the base of the escarpment those few
soldiers who had managed to escape the onslaught could
only sit helplessly by and hear the sounds of the battle
as the wounded struggled to survive atop the cliff. And
then...amazingly...a wounded soldier appeared over the
face of the escarpment. Dangling from a rope, he slowly
descended to the safety of its base as a tall medic fed the
rope through his hands from the summit. First one,
then another, and another....and another. Heedless of
the advancing Japanese, Desmond Doss went about the
work of sending the wounded to safety. Reports of that
day tell of Japanese advancing with rifles and bayonets
to within a few feet of the medic, slowly lowering his men
to safety, before one of the wounded could kill the enemy
before they shot Doss.
For five hours Doss lowered soldier after soldier down
the face of the escarpment, using little more than a tree
stump to wind the top edge of the rope
around. Throughout the five hours Desmond had only
one thought. He prayed, "Lord, help me get one
more. Just ONE more!" How many men Doss saved
that day, only God knows. One hundred and fifty-five
soldiers went up the escarpment that day, and only 55
were able to retreat without assistance. The Army
determined the conscious objector who had almost been
court martialed or discharged as unfit for military
service, had saved 100 lives. "Couldn't be," Desmond
had replied. It couldn't have been more than 50. I
wouldn't have had the time to save 100 men." In
deference to Desmond's humble estimate, when the
citation for his Medal of Honor was written, they "split
the difference", crediting the intrepid soldier with
saving 75 fellow soldiers.
That night General A.D. Bruce arrived from the 77th
Division Headquarters. He was amazed when he heard
the story of Desmond Doss and immediately began to
prepare paperwork to award him the Medal of
Honor. General Bruce missed the opportunity that
evening to meet the heroic soldier, however. His
incredible mission accomplished, a physically exhausted
Desmond Doss had cleaned up as much as his simple
surroundings would allow. Then he went off alone with
his Bible to read, to pray, and to thank God for all He
had accomplished on that day.

May 5, 1945 was a Saturday...the

Sabbath.

The bloody struggle for the Maeda Escarpment

continued for weeks. On the night of May 21st the
Americans launched a bold attack. When the return
fire forced the Americans to take cover, Desmond
remained in the open to treat the wounded. Then he,
and three other soldiers, crawled into a hole to wait out
the darkness. Suddenly a grenade landed among
them. Three men scrambled out but Desmond was too
late. Reflexively he covered the grenade with his boot,
then felt it detonate beneath him and hurl his body into
the darkness of night. When he fell back to earth the
leg was still there, but bleeding badly from numerous
wounds. Rather than call for another medic to leave
shelter and risk his own life, Desmond bandaged his own
wounds and waited the five hours alone until daylight
broke. As the litterbearers arrived with the dawn and
began to carry the wounded medic out of danger they
passed another critically wounded soldier. Desmond
instructed them to put down his litter, then rolled off it
and told them to take the other man. While he awaited
their return he was joined by yet another wounded
soldier. Together the two of them set out for safety,
leaning upon each other.
Once again rifle fire split the morning. Pain stabbed
Desmond's arm which was curled across the shoulders
of his new comrade. The sniper's bullet went into his
wrist, exited through his elbow, and then lodged itself in
his upper arm. Had the bullet not hit Doss, it probably
would have struck his wounded compatriot in the
neck. Desmond borrowed his friend's rifle and used the
stock to fashion a splint for his useless arm. Then the
two continued to crawl to safety.
Seventeen pieces of shrapnel were removed from
Desmond's leg and his arm set in a sling. On the hospital
ship Desmond was being prepared for the return
home. Desmond Doss' war was over. He'd fought a
good fight...his own way...without ever compromising
his strong beliefs.
On October 12, 1945
Desmond Doss was
invited to the White
House. President Harry S
Truman held a Medal of
Honor in his hand as he
looked at the brave young
medic. "I would rather
have this Medal," he said,
"than to be the
President." Then, with
those words, he hung the
Medal of Honor around
the neck of Corporal
Desmond Thomas Doss.

At home another surprise

awaited the young
 man. His men hadn't
forgotten the brave medic AT LEFT
or his love for the Word of
God. The message about DESMOND'S
"Doss' Bible" had been CHERISHED
delivered. Incredibly, the BIBLE
men who once mocked the
Godly Seventh-Day
Adventist who would not
compromise, had
returned to the Maeda
Escarpment with a new
mission and
purpose. After soundly
defeating the Japanese
they fanned out across the
rocky terrain and
conducted a search until
they found, and mailed
home, Desmond's Bible.

Desmond Doss came home a hero, recognized where

ever he went. He built, with his own hands, a special
home on Lookout Mountain in Rising Fawn, Georgia
where he and his wife raised their son, Desmond
Thomas Doss, Jr.
In addition to the flag Desmond
proudly flies daily from his
mountain retreat, a large replica of
the Statue of Liberty adorns the
front yard.

But Desmond doesn't hide away on

the Mountain. As he did during his
military service, he still seeks every
opportunity to share his faith and
minister to the needs of others. In
1965 the U.S. Congress voted to
provide each living recipient of the
Medal of Honor a monthly stipend
of $100. Desmond Doss used much
 of his stipend, as well as his other
income, to fund the Civilian
Defense Rescue Service for Walker
County, Georgia.

The following year that new organization met their first

test when a group of seven Boy Scouts and their leader
became lost in a dark, wet, gas-filled cavern. The new
Walker County CDRS worked around the clock to find
and rescue them. Desmond Doss himself spent more
consecutive hours in that cave, working harder, than
anyone else.
Desmond himself suffered long, lingering after effects of
his war service. Tuberculosis in both lungs, probably
contracted during his service in the Pacific, left
Desmond totally disabled and often near death. This
lead to hearing problems that were only overcome by a
dedicated wife. Despite his own health problems,
Desmond never quit giving. Throughout his life he has
never turned down an opportunity to speak to any
group that it was humanly possible for him to
attend. Dorothy was always there to help and together,
the two felt they could accomplish wonderful things for
God's glory. In 1982 Dorothy was diagnosed with
cancer and underwent surgery. For eight years her
health improved, then suddenly began to
degenerate. Early on the morning of November 17,
1991 as Desmond drove her to one of her regular
treatments at the hospital below Lookout Mountain,
Desmond's car went out of control and plunged over an
embankment. Dorothy's suffering ended that morning.
 In his time of sorrow, Desmond Doss
knew that God was still in
control. And God still had work for
Desmond Doss to do. After months of
struggling with his grief
and loneliness, God brought a help-
meet to Lookout Mountain. Desmond
and Frances Doss were married on
July 1, 1993 and continued the work
they felt called to perform.

In 1998 Frances Doss wrote the story

of Desmond's life in a beautiful 200
page, illustrated book. You can
purchase a copy of DESMOND
DOSS, IN GOD'S CARE for $15 (pp)
by writing:

Frances Doss
372 Valley Creek Road
Piedmont, AL 36272

Desmond Doss Passed Away on March 23, 2006.

Recently the story of Desmond Doss was produced as a video documentary.

You can order the video "The Conscious Objector" directly from his widow
Frances at the above address for $22 Postage Paid. The documentary is
available in either VHS or DVD format, so please specify which you prefer in
your order. To view a streaming media preview of the documentary, click on
the image at left.

Members of the Seventh-Day Adventist churches are

encouraged to serve their Country as did Desmond
Doss. Desmond himself always disliked the term
"conscientious objector" for he did not object to
military service, only to the taking of another human
life. In the state of Michigan, Seventh-Day Adventist
youth train for medical service at a special
facility....CAMP DESMOND T. DOSS.
The island of Okinawa has recovered from the effects of
the war and is today one of the most beautiful islands in
the Pacific. Enshrined there at the Maeda Escarpment
is a special bronze tablet, a monument to a true hero,
Desmond Thomas Doss.
http://www.homeofheroes.com/profiles/profiles_doss3.html