Doss Family History & Genealogy

lanzo , claton son , fannie clayton wife , 4 grand kids ,john, siever, margaret , sally 1987

Pictured in the 1961 Forest Lake Academy (Apopka, Florida, USA) yearbook is Congressional Medal of Honor winner, Desmond T. Doss, with Chaplain James, demonstrating his rescue knot.

A colorized photo of Desmond Doss who was the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor.

A photo of Dorothy and Desmond Doss added to Find A Grave by Kevin Mansfield - Color version of this photo courtesy of Paul Reynolds Photo Colourisations.

Dorothy and Desmond Doss on their wedding day.

The grave of Dorothy Schutte in Tennessee, who married Desmond Doss

A photo of James R Doss

A photo of Bill and Marion Doss
One year before their wedding.

A photo of Margaret Frances (Preston) Doss

A photo of James W Doss

A photo of Sean M Doss when we was in class week before he died

A photo from the movie "Hacksaw Ridge" which is based on the real life experiences of Desmond Doss in World War 2. This shows him getting ready to lower a soldier down the ridge.

A photo of Desmond Doss, his wife Dorothy, his mother-in-law Elsie, and his son - Desmond Doss Jr.

A photo of Desmond Doss in 1966 with his Medal of Honor. He also received 2 Bronze Stars and 3 Purple Hearts for his service during World War II.

Soldiers in a foxhole during the months long battle of Okinawa. The landscape of the island was honeycombed and camouflaged, it looked like natural terrain. The Japanese had held the land for years previous to the invasion.

A Navy man helping a Marine during the Battle of Okinawa. Marines, the Navy, and the Army were all involved in the battle of Okinawa. The battle was over 2 and a half months long.

A photo of Army medics during the battle of Okinawa in World War II. Evacuating the wounded was a very dangerous job. Enemy snipers targeted medics since it was thought that it would hurt soldier's morale to lose medics.

A photo of Hacksaw Ridge (the Maeda Escarpment) during the battle of Okinawa in World War II. US forces first attacked Okinawa in April 1 1945 and the battle lasted until June 22 1945. There were 100,000 Japanese casualties and 50,000 casualties for the Allies.

A photo of the Bible that Desmond Doss carried in World War II. This may be a small photo, but it is the actual Bible. Doss lost it during the battle at Okinawa but his fellow soldiers, at great risk, went back and found it for him.

A photo of Desmond Doss holding a white feather. In World War 1 Great Britain, white feathers were sent to men who were considered cowards. In World War 2, in the United States, white feathers came to symbolize peace and courage.

A photo of Desmond Doss and President Truman (after Doss received the Medal of Honor).

This is what the certificate says:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Private First Class Desmond Thomas Doss, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty from April 29 – 21 May 1945, while serving with the Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division, in action at Urasoe Mura, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands. Private First Class Doss was a company aid man when the 1st Battalion assaulted a jagged escarpment 400 feet high. As our troops gained the summit, a heavy concentration of artillery, mortar and machine gun fire crashed into them, inflicting approximately 75 casualties and driving the others back. Pfc. Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying all 75 casualties one-by-one to the edge of the escarpment and there lowering them on a rope-supported litter down the face of a cliff to friendly hands. On May 2, he exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire in rescuing a wounded man 200 yards forward of the lines on the same escarpment; and 2 days later he treated 4 men who had been cut down while assaulting a strongly defended cave, advancing through a shower of grenades to within eight yards of enemy forces in a cave's mouth, where he dressed his comrades' wounds before making 4 separate trips under fire to evacuate them to safety. On May 5, he unhesitatingly braved enemy shelling and small arms fire to assist an artillery officer. He applied bandages, moved his patient to a spot that offered protection from small arms fire and, while artillery and mortar shells fell close by, painstakingly administered plasma. Later that day, when an American was severely wounded by fire from a cave, Pfc. Doss crawled to him where he had fallen 25 feet from the enemy position, rendered aid, and carried him 100 yards to safety while continually exposed to enemy fire. On May 21, in a night attack on high ground near Shuri, he remained in exposed territory while the rest of his company took cover, fearlessly risking the chance that he would be mistaken for an infiltrating Japanese and giving aid to the injured until he was himself seriously wounded in the legs by the explosion of a grenade. Rather than call another aid man from cover, he cared for his own injuries and waited 5 hours before litter bearers reached him and started carrying him to cover. The trio was caught in an enemy tank attack and Pfc. Doss, seeing a more critically wounded man nearby, crawled off the litter; and directed the bearers to give their first attention to the other man. Awaiting the litter bearers' return, he was again struck, by a sniper bullet while being carried off the field by a comrade, this time suffering a compound fracture of one arm. With magnificent fortitude he bound a rifle stock to his shattered arm as a splint and then crawled 300 yards over rough terrain to the aid station. Through his outstanding bravery and unflinching determination in the face of desperately dangerous conditions Pfc. Doss saved the lives of many soldiers. His name became a symbol throughout the 77th Infantry Division for outstanding gallantry far above and beyond the call of duty.

A photo of Desmond Doss in the hospital after being injured at Hacksaw Ridge and subsequent fighting. He lost 5 ribs, was shot in the arm by a sniper, contracted TB (and lost his hearing, due to being overdosed with antibiotics) and spent 5+ years in VA hospitals.