This right here is the story of a World War II veteran who never fired a bullet, carried a rifle or a gun. In fact, he never even touched a weapon in his lifetime, abiding by his principle of non violence. This is the story of a man who was the very embodiment of an ideal human.
Corporal Desmond Doss was a soldier of the most unique kind – the kind that refused to fight or kill in war.
When Doss registered for the United States Army draft at the age of 18, he had good intentions in his heart. You see, Doss wanted to serve in the US Army during WW II, but the religious man believed in non-violence. And he refused to carry any kind of weapon to the battlefield, claiming that all he wanted was to help his fellow soldiers. Something he almost received a court-martial for. So he served in the army as a medic.
He became the first soldier who was allowed to serve on the battlefield without any weapons.
He showed that you really didn’t need to kill another human being to prove that you have balls made of ultra-hardened-out-of-this-world steel. Doss was called in to serve with the 77th Infantry Division of the US Army and spent time, all the way through till 1945, in some of the most dangerous battlefields of World War II – including Okinawa – and he did it without ever touching a weapon.
Imagine if Rambo and Mother Teresa had a kid, and he grew up as a Christian Gandhian. That’s Desmond Doss for you!
But it was in the hellish battle at Okinawa in 1945 that Doss unbelievably managed to save 75 wounded soldiers, all by himself.
This is not even stuff fiction can come up with. In 1945, when a platoon of US soldiers were carrying out a sneak attack, Japanese soldiers ambushed them and laid down heavy fire on the 800 soldiers. 500 of them died on the spot, but Doss survived. He ended up running back and forth in the midst of the deadly fire to save 75 soldiers for 5 hours straight, with nothing but a Bible and a First-Aid Kit with him. Each man was saved by being lowered with a pulley over a 45-foot cliffside.
He did this all by himself, dodging bullets and sneaking between cover fire.
He was awarded the Medal of Honour – the highest military award – for his acts. And now, Mel Gibson is directing a movie about him.
Set to release later this year, Mel Gibson’s newest directorial work, Hacksaw Ridge, stars Andrew Garfield reprising Corporal Desmond Doss in what looks like the most promising war film of the year.
Check out the trailer below: