by Fynn K (age 12)
I have studied Desmond Doss because of his inspiring heroics in WWII.
Doss chose not to bear arms: he felt that his conscience wouldn’t allow him to take a life, so he asked to go war as a medic without carrying a weapon.
He said, “If this world is trying to tear itself apart, I don’t think it’s such a bad thing to put a little bit of it back together”.
My Lego mock up here depicts the battle at Hacksaw Ridge, Okinawa (the largest of the Ryukyu Islands in southern Japan).
Desmond Doss is most remembered for his incredible selflessness at Hacksaw Ridge.
When the American army retreated, the only people left on the ridge were the Japanese, the wounded, and Doss himself.
Doss had insisted on staying, and, all through the night he carried the wounded from the battlefield to the edge of the 400ft high cliff. He lowered one after another down to the safety of the base below: American soldiers and even some wounded Japanese soldiers.
Even though he was totally exhausted and his body was telling him to stop, Doss would pray, “Lord, please help me to get one more”.
In total, Doss saved somewhere between seventy-five and one hundred lives, including that of his captain. He was awarded the Medal of Honour; he was the first conscientious objector ever to receive it.
Word Oysters 