Desmond T. Doss: A Tragic Hero

Imagine doing something so amazing that one would be awarded the medal of honor! Desmond T. Doss was awarded the medal of honor for being the first conscientious objector in World War II. He refused to carry any type of gun. Beside that fact, Doss saved many lives. After the war, he got tuberculosis and had to spend years recovering. Desmond Doss saved many lives without a gun in WWII. Before the war, Desmond Doss had grown up living a normal life. He was born on February 7, 1919 in Lynchburg, Virginia. He decided to enlist in the United States Army when he was twenty three years old in April of 1942. When Doss got into World War II, he became an army medic. But when he enlisted, Desmond did not know that there would be books written about him or documentary films made about him. He did not know that what he
He had talked about wanting to attend a trade school then become a florist. But, as I said before, he developed tuberculosis and could not go to trade school. So, Doss spent a lot of time talking about his experiences in the war and worked with younger people in church-sponsored programs. Doss lived in Rising Fawn, GA, before he decided to move to Alabama. In 2006, Desmond Doss died because of shortness of breath. He lived to be eighty seven years old. Desmond Doss lived to tell an amazing story about his time in the war. Before World War II, he had lived a normal life. When he enlisted into the military in 1942, he refused to carry a gun or hold one. After the war, Doss lived a long life working with children, dying in 2006. When Doss was awarded the Medal of Honor, he said this quote, “All the glory should go to God. No telling how many times the Lord has spared my life”, (Richard Goldstein, “Desmond T. Doss, 87, Heroic War Objector, Dies-The New…”, March 25, 2006, p.1) Doss says that he should not take the glory of winning the Medal of Honor, God