Introduction: Desmond Doss was born February 7, 1919. Desmond lived in a small house with his mom, dad, and brother in West Virginia. Desmond Doss, was a seventh day Adventist. Desmond would not hold a weapon. Desmond Doss join the U.S. Army, and was assigned to an infantry rifle company. Desmond was the company medic, but refused to carry a weapon and believed that it was wrong to take someones life. Early Life: Desmond Doss grew up with his mom raising him to believe strongly in God. His father was never around much because he was always away drinking alcohol by his friends graves who died during World War I. There was a poster with the ten commandments on one of the walls in their home that their father had bought from an auction early …show more content…
But, he later joined the U.S. Army on April 1, 1942 because of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Desmond didn’t have to join the military and could have kept working at the Newport News Naval shipyard because he was already fixing ships for the navy. But, he felt it was his duty to serve his God and his country. Desmond was deployed to the Pacific theatre in World War II and served on the islands of Guam, Leyte, and Okinawa. He was awarded the Medal Of Honor for his actions on Okinawa, on October 12, 1945 by President Harry S. Truman, becoming the only conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor (see appendice …show more content…
Army in 1942. When his officers and the men in his company found out that he was a seventh day adventist, they gave him a really tough time because he was different. They didn’t think he would be much help to them when they need a medic, but they also believed he would be a waste of their time without a weapon. His officers had thought the same thing, and they had tried multiple times to get him out of their unit. They tried to force him to quit training by assigning him to extra duty, and intimidate him. They ordered him to carry a gun, and when he refused to carry it or hold it, they used it against Desmond and tried to Court Martial him for that. But their attempts to court martial him failed and he was allowed to serve. His fellow soldiers opinions started to change when Desmond would be tending to their blistered feet caused by walking miles and miles. When someone would faint from heat exhaustion, he would be right next to them giving them water from his own canteen to drink. On the islands of Guam, Leyte, and Okinawa, Desmond Doss showed a great amount of courage on each of their military operations. He always thought of others before himself, and would do anything to help his fellow soldiers. On Okinawa, Desmond showed an incredible amount of courage. When all the men went up the ridge to the top, they were counter attacked by the enemy. Everyone was ordered to retreat and head back down the ridge. More than half of the men that came up