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Inside The Real Story Behind ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ And The Heroic Medic Who Saved Dozens Of His Fellow Soldiers
U.S. National ArchivesDesmond Doss, the conscientious objector who received a Medal of Honor.
The 2016 film Hacksaw Ridge tells the story of Desmond Doss, an unlikely war hero. A devout Christian and stringent member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, he wholeheartedly adhered to the commandment “thou shalt not kill,” which earned him status as a conscientious objector during World War II. But the true story behind Hacksaw Ridge is even more incredible than the movie.
Doss’ patriotism spurred him to enlist in the U.S. Army anyway, but he requested that he be allowed to join as a medic. During basic training, however, he refused to touch a weapon. This didn’t exactly earn him many friends, as many of his fellow soldiers considered him a liability.
Yet, Doss surprised everyone with his bravery. In 1944, when his regiment landed in Guam, he carried his Bible into battle and impressed his comrades as he treated wounded men under fire, earning himself a Bronze Star for valor. When he and his unit arrived on Okinawa a few months later, his brothers in arms no longer felt he was a burden — they were thankful to have him there on the infamous “Hacksaw Ridge” with them.
This is the true story of Hacksaw Ridge and the heroic man who inspired the film.
Desmond Doss, The Conscientious Objector Who Became A War Hero
Desmond Doss CouncilDesmond Doss with his father, William Thomas Doss.
Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1919, Desmond Doss was raised with a strong belief in the Bible and the Ten Commandments, which instilled in him strong views against killing. He also firmly adhered to not working on the Sabbath, which he observed on Saturday as a Seventh-day Adventist.
This didn’t exactly align with the rigid structure of the military. Still, when Doss was drafted in 1942, he didn’t attempt to seek deferment.
“I was also threatened with being put in a conscientious objector’s camp but I told them that I wasn’t that type of objector,” Doss recalled in a 1987 interview. “I felt it an honor to serve my country, God and country, same as the rest of them. The only thing, I just didn’t want to take life.”
His refusal to carry a weapon or work Saturdays — despite making up for that work on Sunday, while others rested — made him the target of ridicule among his fellow troops.
Desmond Doss CouncilDesmond Doss (second from right) during training.
“It started out as harassment and then it became abusive,” filmmaker Terry Benedict, who made the documentary The Conscientious Objector about Doss, told NPR in 2016. “They just saw him as a slacker, someone who shouldn’t have been allowed in the Army, and somebody who was their weakest link in the chain.”
Just as portrayed in the true story of Hacksaw Ridge, Doss’ commanding officer, Captain Jack Glover, even tried to get him transferred. But Doss remained steadfast in his resolve.
“Don’t ever doubt my courage,” he told Glover, “because I will be right by your side saving life while you take life.”
No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t shake Doss. Soon enough, though, his regiment realized they were far better off with Doss by their side.
Inside The True Story Behind ‘Hacksaw Ridge’
Desmond Doss CouncilDesmond Doss with his mother, Bertha, and wife, Dorothy.
While serving in both Guam and the Philippines in 1944, Doss made it apparent how much he was willing to sacrifice for his fellow soldiers. And in May 1945, that sense of duty became even clearer during the Battle of Okinawa.
During combat, he was seen sprinting through enemy fire to help injured troops on the field. Doss was in especially great danger, too, as the Japanese were trained to target medics to hurt morale and hinder their enemies’ chances at survival.
Desmond Doss’ company had also been tasked with climbing a steep, jagged cliff known as the Maeda Escarpment, or Hacksaw Ridge, to reach a plateau where thousands of Japanese soldiers awaited them. The size of this cliff is slightly exaggerated in the movie, but that doesn’t make the real story behind Hacksaw Ridge any less impressive.
Public DomainDesmond Doss at the top of Hacksaw Ridge in 1945.
With thousands of bullets flying at them, Doss and his fellow troops pushed on, while Doss crawled on the ground from one wounded soldier to another.
But getting them back off the ridge to the other medics waiting below was going to be a challenge, especially if he wanted to make sure they weren’t injured further.
“But then a thought came to my mind,” Doss recalled. “I said, ‘Lord help me.’ Then I thought of a knot that I had never seen or heard of before in my life… As a result, with the bow line, with rope double, I end up with what I referred to as a double bow line knot.”
This special knot allowed Doss to safely lower injured soldiers off of Hacksaw Ridge — and he was determined to save as many of them as he could. “Lord,” he prayed every time he rescued a man, “please help me get one more.”
One by one, he brought them to safety. Over a 12-hour period, he saved an estimated 75 men, including Captain Glover, who later referred to Doss as “one of the bravest persons alive.”
In Hacksaw Ridge, Desmond Doss — portrayed by Andrew Garfield — is shown treating an enemy soldier. It’s unclear if this actually happened. Doss’ fellow troops do recall seeing a Japanese man with an American bandage, and Doss himself stated that he tried to help wounded Japanese soldiers once. However, they pulled a gun on him, so he left.
So, while the real story of Hacksaw Ridge may not involve Doss lowering enemies down the cliff alongside his own men, it’s clear that the medic stood by his conviction of saving — not taking — lives.
While he survived the battle at Hacksaw Ridge mostly uninjured, Doss was severely wounded by shrapnel two weeks later. Even with his own injuries, though, Doss continued to treat other wounded soldiers until his arm was broken by Japanese fire.
Library of CongressHarry Truman presenting Desmond Doss with the Medal of Honor.
Upon returning home, Doss was received as a hero. President Harry Truman presented him with the Medal of Honor on Oct. 12, 1945, but it wasn’t easy returning to his old life. Doss spent more than five years being treated for tuberculosis he contracted during the war, and he was never able to work full-time because of the injuries he’d sustained.
Instead, he spent the rest of his life working on his farm and with his church until his death in 2006 at age 87.
Although he never lived to see it, his story was shared with a wider audience thanks to the true story of Hacksaw Ridge, which was released in 2016. For the most part, it was a fairly accurate portrayal of Doss’ story — with just a few creative liberties taken by filmmakers.
How Accurate Is ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ To Desmond Doss’ True Story?
LionsgateAndrew Garfield portrays Desmond Doss in Hacksaw Ridge.
As Desmond Doss Jr. told People in 2022, his father’s life had attracted numerous Hollywood producers over the years. However, Doss declined most of their offers because he wanted any film made about him to be accurate.
This was also the goal of director Mel Gibson and producer Bill Mechanic when they finally did adapt the remarkable story.
“[Mel Gibson and I] were very accurate with Desmond and what happened to him,” Mechanic told the outlet. They did, however, take some liberties with “some of the details around it,” such as Doss’ father’s backstory and the chronological timeline of his marriage. Mechanic argued that these changes were simply to make the film more “compelling,” and critics and audiences seemed to agree. Hacksaw Ridge received praise for its accuracy — and some criticism for its gritty violence.
Library of CongressDesmond Doss saluting in his uniform later in life.
But Mechanic said showing how violent and bloody the Battle of Okinawa was made Doss’ story all the more impactful. Still, Gibson left out one key part of the tale.
On the day Doss was injured by a grenade blast, he gave up his own stretcher to another wounded soldier and waited five hours for help to return. While he was waiting, he was shot in the arm by a Japanese sniper. Gibson reportedly thought that audiences would find this series of events unrealistic. In this way, the true story behind Hacksaw Ridge is even more incredible than the film.
However, considering the movie won two Oscars — and received six nominations — in 2017, it’s fair to say Gibson and Mechanic were successful in how they chose to portray the events.
“What he did was the greatest act of love there is,” Gibson told the Los Angeles Times after the film’s release. “That’s why I call this movie a love story, not a war story.”
After reading about the true story of Hacksaw Ridge, go inside the life of Lachhiman Gurung, the one-handed hero of World War II. Then, see 55 colorized World War II photos that show the conflict as it really was.
The post Inside The Real Story Behind ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ And The Heroic Medic Who Saved Dozens Of His Fellow Soldiers appeared first on All That's Interesting.
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