Desmond Doss
| Desmond Doss | |
|---|---|
Doss about to receive the Medal
of Honor in October 1945 |
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| Birth name | Desmond Thomas Doss |
| Born |
February 7, 1919 Lynchburg, Virginia, United States |
| Died | March 23, 2006 (aged 87) Piedmont, Alabama, United States |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1942–1946 |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Unit | B Company, 1st Battalion, 307th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
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| Spouse(s) |
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Desmond Thomas Doss (February 7, 1919 – March 23, 2006) was a United States Army corporal who served as a combat medic with an infantry company in World War II. After distinguishing himself in the Battle of Okinawa, he became the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor for actions above and beyond the call of duty. He is also the only conscientious objector to receive the medal during World War II.
Desmond Doss was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, the son of William Thomas Doss, a carpenter, and Bertha E. Doss (née Oliver), a homemaker. His mother raised him as a devout Seventh-day Adventist and instilled Sabbath-keeping, nonviolence, and a vegetarian lifestyle in his upbringing.
Doss stopped attending school after the ninth grade to help support his parents and siblings during the Great Depression.
After the outbreak of World War II, Doss was employed at a shipyard in Newport News, Virginia doing defense work. Doss enlisted – despite being offered a deferment for his shipyard work – and entered military service on April 1, 1942 at Camp Lee, Virginia. He was sent to Fort Jackson in South Carolina for training with the reactivated 77th Infantry Division. Meanwhile, his brother Harold Doss served aboard the USS Lindsey. Doss refused to kill an enemy soldier or carry a weapon into combat because of his personal beliefs as a Seventh-day Adventist. He consequently became a medic assigned to 2nd Platoon, B Company, 1st Battalion, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division. While serving with his platoon in 1944 on Guam and the Philippines, he was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for aiding wounded soldiers under fire. During the Battle of Okinawa, he saved the lives of 75 wounded infantrymen atop the Maeda Escarpment. Doss was wounded four times in Okinawa, and was evacuated on May 21, 1945 aboard the USS Mercy.
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