PFC Desmond Doss, Source http://history.amedd.army.mil/MOH/dossd.html (PD-federal govt.)

The new Mel Gibson film “Hacksaw Ridge” is the true story of Desmond Doss, a WWII conscientious objector.  Doss – a Seventh Day Adventist – served as a medic to the 1^st Battalion, 307^th Infantry, 77^th Infantry Division, ultimately saving the lives of over 75 men for which he won the Medal of Honor.

The documentary “The Conscientious Objector:  Pvt. Desmond Doss – The Fearless Warrior Without a Rifle” includes moving interviews with Doss and those who served with him.  You can find it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5JVQt-C8YE.

What first strikes the viewer is that Doss was a small man.  For him to lift and carry even a single soldier must have been a challenge.  Yet he repeatedly risked his life to transport 75 wounded companions off an exposed Okinawa ridge under heavy fire by the Japanese.

What is equally remarkable…