Source: Good News Network
100 years ago today, Desmond Doss, the US Army corporal who saved 75 men while refusing to carry a weapon during one of the worst battles of World War II, was born in Lynchburg, Virginia. Raised a devout Seventh-day Adventist Christian, Doss volunteered to serve as a combat medic, so he could save lives instead of take lives.
For his heroism beyond the call of duty, he was twice awarded the Bronze Star and won the prestigious Medal of Honor—all as a conscientious objector who would not kill the enemy.
His story was told in the 2016 Oscar nominated feature film Hacksaw Ridge. Learn about the mini-miracle of his bible, lost on the battlefield… (1919)
Before placing the Medal of Honor around the young man’s neck, President Harry Truman read the long citation of Doss’s bravery on the Japanese island of Okinawa: When the 1st Battalion of the 77th Infantry Division assaulted a jagged escarpment 400 feet high, they drew heavy artillery, mortar and machine gun fire that left 75 casualties and drove the Americans back. Private First Class Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying them one by one to the edge of the cliff (pictured below) and lowering them on a rope-supported litter down the face to the friendly hands below.
He later said his constant prayer was, “Lord, help me get one more.”
Days later, “he exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire in rescuing a wounded man 200 yards forward of the lines; and two days later he treated four men who had been cut down while assaulting a strongly defended cave, advancing through a shower of grenades to within eight yards of enemy forces in a cave’s mouth, where he dressed his comrades’ wounds before making four separate trips under fire to evacuate them to safety.”
The full citation lists even more incredible deeds, including eventually being badly injured, yet directing medics to go care for others on the battlefield, instead.
At a 2003 Florida Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, officials presented Doss with a trophy and told a story about the bible his…
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