Desmond Doss
Corporal Desmond Doss | |
|---|---|
Doss, photographed prior to receiving the Medal of Honor in October 1945 | |
| Birth name | Desmond Thomas Doss |
| Born | February 7, 1919 Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | March 23, 2006 (aged 87) Piedmont, Alabama, U.S. |
| Buried | Chattanooga National Cemetery, Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Service years | 1942–1946 |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Service number | 33158036 |
| Unit | Company B, 1st Battalion, 307th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division |
| Conflicts | |
| Awards | Medal of Honor Bronze Star Medal (2) Purple Heart (3) |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 1 |
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. Due to his religious beliefs, he refused to carry a weapon.
He was twice awarded the Bronze Star Medal for actions on Guam and in the Philippines. Doss further distinguished himself in the Battle of Okinawa by saving an estimated 75 men, acting on his own, becoming the first of only three conscientious objectors to receive the Medal of Honor for this and other actions, the others being Thomas W. Bennett and Joseph G. LaPointe Jr., who were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War.
His life has been the subject of books, the 2004 documentary The Conscientious Objector, and the 2016 Oscar-winning film Hacksaw Ridge, in which he was portrayed by Andrew Garfield.