MEDAL OF HONOR
Rank and
organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry,
77th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Urasoe Mura, Okinawa, Ryukyu
Islands, 29 April-21 May 1945. Entered service at: Lynchburg, Va. Birth:
Lynchburg, Va. G.O. No.: 97, 1 November 1945.
Citation: He was a company aid
man when the 1st Battalion assaulted a jagged escarpment 400 feet high. As our
troops gained the summit, a heavy concentration of artillery, mortar and
machinegun 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 1 by 1 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 2 days later he treated 4 men who had been cut down while
assaulting a strongly defended cave, advancing through a shower of grenades to
within 8 yards of enemy forces in a cave's mouth, where he dressed his
comrades' wounds before making 4 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 aid man from cover, he cared for his own
injuries and waited 5 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 1 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.
When President Harry S Truman
presented The Congressional Medal of Honor to Desmond Doss he said, " I’m
proud of you, you really deserve this. I consider this a greater honor than
being president."
The above post came from my book Conquer the Losing Attitude of Job Hunters.
The above post came from my book Conquer the Losing Attitude of Job Hunters.
*****
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