This story brought out the patriot in me.
"While under enemy fire on the island of Okinawa, Doss carried 75 wounded soldiers to the edge of a 400-foot cliff and lowered them to safety, according to his citation. During a later attack, he was seriously wounded in the legs by a grenade. According to the citation, as he was being carried to safety, he saw a more critically injured man and crawled off his stretcher, directing the medics to help the other wounded man.
"He wanted to serve. He just didn't want to kill anybody," said a veteran who attended the service, Fred Headrick, 85. "Most all of them (Medal of Honor recipients) received their medal for killing someone. He received his by saving lives.""
1 comment:
The Unlikeliest Hero by Booten Herndon was my favorite book from childhood. I still own the hardcover copy my Dad gave me in the 1960s. Doss was a Seventh-day Adventist who refused to touch a gun because of his personal religious beliefs. He’s the only American to win the nation’s highest honor as a conscientious objector.
Yep, there ought to be a "Doss Day."
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