Desmond Doss

Desmond Doss Picturehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Doss

If a person were to not carry a gun  into a war they would be seen as dishonoring the country or even a threat to their own side. Desmond Doss stood up to these negative thoughts and action when he refused to take a human life in war. Doss enlisted into the United States Army as a combat medic during World War II. Since he was an Adventist, he was a pacifist and his beliefs were strongly looked down on until the company was shipped out to an island of Okinawa, nicknamed “Hacksaw Ridge”(The Unlikely hero). Doss showed many traits that are heroic. He put others before himself and he also was very forgiving to those who treated him poorly. Desmond Doss was selfless and forgiving, therefore he is a hero.

Doss’s Selflessness is his greatest strength that helped many people’s lives. Doss was selfless because he put others in front of himself, even in dangerous times. “Doss was seriously wounded in the leg by a grenade. Instead of calling on another medic for help, he treated himself and waited five hours to be rescued.As he was being carried back to an aid station, his unit was attacked again. Doss insisted that another badly injured soldier take his spot on the stretcher”(The unlikely hero behind hacksaw Ridge). This is saying that because of Doss’s selfless quality he let another injured soldier take his stretcher before him. He could have taken the stretcher back and he would have been treated, but instead he decided to give it up. This shows that Doss is a hero for his selfless actions because he risked his life to try and help save anothers. Doss put himself last in this situation for the wellbeing of other people's safety. Doss went beyond what was needed of him and saved many lives because of it. “One lone soldier disobeyed orders and charged back into the firefight to rescue as many of his men as he could, before he either collapsed or died trying. His iron determination and unflagging courage resulted in at least 75 lives saved that day, May 5, 1945, his Sabbath”(The Real Story). This is saying that Doss ran back into the war zone after a battle to save over 75 men. As he was doing this he could have easily be hurt or even killed, but instead he put his life on the line to keep others lives intact. This demonstrates that Doss was selfless because not only did he save many lives , but it was on his Sabbath which he requested of for religious purposes. Because of Doss’s selflessness he saved many lives while endangering his own.

Desmond Doss in 2000'shttps://www.adventistreview.org/church-news/story4465-would-desmond-doss-be-happy-with-hacksaw-ridgeDesmond Doss’s ability to forgive people is one of the many things that make him a hero. Because of Doss’s beliefs and him being a pacifist he was made fun of and abused.  “They saw him as a liability. Nobody believed a soldier without a weapon was worthwhile. They tried to intimidate him, scold him, assign him extra tough duties, and declared him mentally unfit for the Army”(The Real Story). This is saying that, because of Doss’s beliefs, he was treated poorly and at some points even abused. Not only did they physically abuse him but they tried to get Doss kicked out of the army.This shows that Doss is forgiving because even though his group was abusing him, he let it go and didn't retaliate. He knew that retaliating would only hurt him and that being forgiving is necessary in they situation they were in. He had to let bad things go in order to do his duty as a medic. Despite all of the abuse, when it came time for an attack, Doss forgave everyone and focused on his duty, to save lives. “Over the span of several hours, Doss treated the injured and, one by one, dragged them to the edge of the cliff and lowered them to safety in a rope sling...  he had rescued 75 soldiers, including many of the men who had berated him earlier in his military career”(The Unlikely hero). This is saying that Doss went in after an attack and ended up saving over 75 lives. Not only did he save many lives, but many of the people he did save were the men who were mean to him earlier on. This illustrates that Doss was forgiving because even after they abused him he let it go and did his duty. Doss forgave the men that hurt him and saved their lives for his country. Doss is a hero because he forgave the men who treated him poorly and saved many of their lives.

Winning medal of honorhttps://eslkevin.wordpress.com/2010/07/04/a-great-story-for-this-fourth-of-july%E2%80%94desmond-t-doss%E2%80%94a-hero-of-wwii/Since Desmond Doss was selfless and forgiving, he is considered hero. Doss always put the other soldiers before himself to be able to save their lives. He would intentionally put himself in harm's way to do his duty and save his soldiers' lives. Doss was treated poorly because of his beliefs and at some point even physically abused. But when it came time for war Desmond put the bad things behind and many of the lives he had saved were the men that treated him poorly earlier on. Desmond Doss is an inspiration because of his selflessness, his forgiveness, and that he never killed anyone while on duty. He is an inspiration because his kindness overpowered the other men's hate and he ended up to be a major part in their lives. Despite the constant abuse Doss powered through all of the obstacles and eventually completed his goal of saving lives as a combat medic. If we had more people in the world like Desmond Doss, then what would our world look like?

Works Cited

"PFC. DESMOND DOSS: THE UNLIKELY HERO BEHIND 'HACKSAW RIDGE'." States

News Service, 28 Feb. 2017. Biography in Context,

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A484395112/BIC1?u=powa9245&xid=b4488ee1.

Accessed 14 Feb. 2018.

“Desmond Doss: The Real Story.” Desmond Doss: The Real Story, Desmond Doss Council,

2016, desmonddoss.com/bio/bio-real.php.