The Real Hero of Hacksaw Ridge

HACKSAW RIDGE is a film based, very closely, on the life of Pfc. Desmond Doss, who was a medic during World War II.

Doss grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia, the son of William and Bertha Doss. William was a World War I veteran who was an alcoholic suffering from PTSD.

As a child, the younger Doss was drawn to an illustration on one of the walls of his home that depicted the Ten Commandments. In particular, the Sixth Commandment (Thou Shall Not Kill) which showed Cain murdering his brother Abel.

After witnessing a particularly violent fight between his father and uncle, Doss swore off guns. He became a fervent Seventh Day Adventist, mainly due to the influence of Bertha.

When Pearl Harbor was attacked, Doss was working in a shipyard in Newport News, making him eligible for a deferral. But he felt it was his moral duty to enlist. The challenge, which the film emphasizes, was that Doss refused to hold a gun or kill an enemy soldier, because it was against his personal and religious beliefs. (Holly Meyer's article in USA Today does a great job of detailing the beliefs behind Doss' actions, noting that Seventh Day Adventists adhere to a policy of nonviolence but allow followers to serve in the military as noncombatants.)

As you might well imagine, Doss was subjected to physical and verbal abuse while in boot camp. His fellow soldiers felt that Doss' faith, combined with his slight physical stature, would make him a major liability on the battlefield.

Doss proved them wrong.

During the battle of Okinawa, as a medic for the 307th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division at Urasoe Mura, the division came under heavy fire. They were trying to take a 740 foot high escarpment and came under heavy fire.

According to Doss' Medal of Honor citation, he carried 75 wounded soldiers, one-by-one, back to the edge of the escarpment and lowered them down by rope to receive medical treatment.

During a night attack, Doss was seriously wounded. Rather than calling for another medic to leave cover to help him, Doss waited five hours before stretcher bearers came. Caught in an enemy tank attack. Doss, seeing that another soldier was critically wounded, crawled off the stretcher and told the stretcher bearers to take care of the wounded man first.

While waiting for the stretcher bearers to return, Doss was hit by a sniper bullet that resulted in a compound fracture of his arm. He bound the wound, using his rifle as a splint, and crawled 300 yards over rough terrain to the aid station.

For his valor, Doss received the Congressional Medal of Honor and a Purple Heart.

Doss eventually married Dorothy Schutte, whom he met before the War and they remained married until her death in 1991. Desmond passed away in 2006. They had one son, Desmond, Jr., who was recently interviewed by Mike Miller for an article in People Magazine.

In the article Desmond, Jr. gives kudos to Mel Gibson's film, HACKSHAW RIDGE:  "I grew up in a household where there was an endless stream of people coming through the door wanting to make a movie, write a book..." The reason Desmond's dad refused to grant their requests was "none of them adhered to his one requirement, that it be accurate. And I find it remarkable the level of accuracy in adhering to the principal of the story in this movie."

The elder Desmond spent the rest of his life devoted to serving his church. Doss never took credit for his heroic actions. "He just wanted to give all the glory to God," his son said.

Mel Gibson does an outstanding job in directing HACKSAW RIDGE and coaxing a beautifully understated performance by Andrew Garfield (who plays Desmond). The trick was to portray a man of remarkable moral character who was not physically commanding, and Garfield does a great job of this. Teresa Palmer portrays Dorothy with a seasoned grace that shows there is much below the surface. And in an atypical role for him, Vince Vaughn does a fine job as Sergeant Howell (Desmond's drill sergeant). Luke Bracey does an admirable turn as Smitty, a soldier who slowly changes from active loathing of Doss in boot camp, to recognizing Doss'  uncommon valor in the line of fire.

Normally I avoid military-minded films and don't promote them. But I found that the cumulative effect of HACKSAW RIDGE's battle scenes served to accentuate the utter (and ultimate) futility of war. HACKSAW RIDGE is not primarily a film about war; it's a statement about faith. There simply was no other way to show the extent of Doss' remarkable courage and moral character apart from the battlefield upon which they were demonstrated.

Be advised: A large portion of HACKSAW RIDGE centers on the battle of Okinawa. These scenes are graphic and openly gruesome. The blood flows as the carnage flies. However, the film sets itself apart from most war films in that the gore of war isn't made trivial or glorified. If anything, the battle scenes serve to underscore Desmond Doss' amazing faith and moral foundation.

Photo Credits: Records of Virginia World War II History Commission