CU
LT U R E
THE UNLIKELY STORY BEHIND A
BLOCKBUSTER By Nathan Brown
COURTESY DESMOND DOSS COUNCIL
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SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • AUGUST 2022
n one sense, it was hardly an unusual story: a big-budget Hollywood war movie with a big-name director and famous actors, featuring long and ultra-violent action sequences, with heroes and enemies. And—of course—critical and popular acclaim and a string of major awards, including two Oscars for its technical production. But in another sense, it is one of the most unlikely stories: a United States army medic who—because of his faith—refused to carry a gun, even in the midst of one of the bloodiest battles of World War II, yet was the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on that battlefield. The unlikely true story is that of Desmond Doss, a medic in the United States Army’s 77th Infantry Division deployed to the Pacific in 1945 and engaged in the fierce
Battle of Okinawa against the Japanese Imperial Forces. Doss was raised in Lynchburg, Virginia, as a Seventh-day Adventist Christian and was committed to keeping the 10 Commandments, including the commands to “Remember the Sabbath . . .” and “Thou shalt not kill” (see Exodus 20:1–17)—even amid the worst of the fighting at Okinawa’s Hacksaw Ridge. And it was on this battlefield that he rescued as many as 75 injured soldiers, lowering them safely down a cliff face while under fire himself, all the while praying to be able to rescue “one more” of his men, some of whom had previously ridiculed him for his faith. Doss’s remarkable story was retold in 2016 in Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge, with the role of Desmond Doss played by Andrew Garfield. Filmed in Australia, it also features a number of recognisable local actors AUGUST 2022 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU
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