"He was a company aidman when the 1st Battalion assaulted a jagged escarpment 400 feet high. As our troops gained the summit, a heavy concentration of artillery, mortar, and machine-gun fire crashed into them, inflicting approximately 75 casualties and driving the others back. Pfc. 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 escarpment and there lowering them on a rope-supported litter down the face of a cliff to friendly hands. On 2 May, he exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire in rescuing a wounded man 200 yards forward of the lines on the same escarpment; 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. On 5 May, he unhesitatingly braved enemy shelling and small-arms fire to assist an artillery officer. He applied bandages, moved his patient to a spot that offered protection from small-arms fire, and, while artillery and mortar shells fell close by, painstakingly administered plasma. Later that day, when an American was severely wounded by fire from a cave, Pfc. Doss crawled to him where he had fallen 25 feet from the enemy position, rendered aid, and carried him 100 yards to safety while continually exposed to enemy fire. On 21 May, in a night attack on high ground near Shuri, he remained in exposed territory while the rest of his company took cover, fearlessly risking the chance that he would be mistaken for an infiltrating Japanese and giving aid to the injured until he was himself seriously wounded in the legs by the explosion of a grenade. Rather than call another aidman from cover, he cared for his own injuries and waited five hours before litter bearers reached him and started carrying him to cover. The trio was caught in an enemy tank attack and Pfc. Doss, seeing a more critically wounded man nearby, crawled off the litter and directed the bearers to give their first attention to the other man. Awaiting the litter bearers' return, he was again struck, this time suffering a compound fracture of one arm. With magnificent fortitude he bound a rifle stock to his shattered arm as a splint and then crawled 300 yards over rough terrain to the aid station. Through his outstanding bravery and unflinching determination in the face of desperately dangerous conditions Pfc. Doss saved the lives of many soldiers. His name became a symbol throughout the 77th Infantry Division for outstanding gallantry far above and beyond the call of duty."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Citation for the Medal of Honor awarded to Doss, presented by President Harry Truman at the White House, Washington, D.C., on 12 October 1945
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Desmond_T._Doss
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Desmond T. Doss
Desmond Thomas Doss (February 7, 1919 – March 23, 2006) was a United States Army corporal
23 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Desmond T. Doss →
Related Quotes
"And this is another place where we sort of disagree. To sum up my award now, you say I saved a life because I lowered…"
"He demonstrated that unconditional love, compassion, acceptance, and forgiveness, are possible even in the most adver…"
"The Japanese were out to get the medics. To them, the most hated men in our army were the medics and the BAR men, the…"
"There were one hundred and fifty-five went up and fifty-five got themselves down, so they wanted to say I lowered one…"
"And when I was eighteen, in nineteen thirty-seven, I registered, like anyone else, with my draft board in Lynchburg, …"
"Even though I said those things to him in regard to carrying a rifle, then he would never be by my damn side at all u…"
"[About a framed poster depicting scenes for each of the Christian Ten Commandments] My dad bought it at an auction fo…"
"I was working as a carpenter in defense work in a shipyard in Newport News, Virginia, and my boss offered me a deferm…"
"So, I feel like my work has been rewarding work. I have no regrets. I'm just thankful I had the honor and privilege t…"
"Pfc. Desmond Doss is perhaps one of the most unlikely recipients of the Medal of Honor. Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, …"