Desmond Doss: The Strength to Save Others

Quick answer: What did Desmond Doss do at Hacksaw Ridge?

On Okinawa in 1945, when the 77th Infantry Division was ordered off the escarpment called Hacksaw Ridge, Private First Class Desmond Doss, a Seventh-day Adventist combat medic who refused to carry a weapon, stayed behind under fire. For about twelve hours he lowered wounded men by rope sling, rescuing an estimated 75.

Okinawa, 1945, the escarpment soldiers called Hacksaw Ridge. Shells hit the cliff, Japanese machine guns raked the plateau from hidden caves, and dozens of American soldiers were cut down. The 77th Infantry Division was ordered to retreat. One man stayed. Private First Class Desmond T. Doss was a Seventh-day Adventist combat medic who had refused to carry a weapon. Alone and under fire, he found the wounded one by one, dragged them to the cliff's edge, and lowered them by rope sling to safety while sniper rounds passed close. He kept at it for hours. By the end he had rescued an estimated 75 men. When his strength ran out, he prayed for enough to save one more: “Lord, help me get one more.” He was later wounded by a grenade, then had his arm shattered by a sniper's bullet, and still treated others before accepting aid. President Truman awarded him the Medal of Honor, the first ever given to a conscientious objector. You don't need a weapon to show courage, John writes, or a loud voice to lead.

Why it matters for leaders: Courage can look like conviction without a weapon; ask who you're willing to carry when no one else will.

Q: What did Doss pray?

A: “Lord, help me get one more.”

Q: What distinction did his Medal of Honor carry?

A: President Truman awarded it in 1945, the first ever given to a conscientious objector.

Read the full essay on Substack → https://heroespath.substack.com/p/desmond-doss-the-strength-to-save

By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation