Talk:Desmond Doss

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Untitled[edit]

The medic Desmond Doss saved hundreds of lives at HackSaw Ridge in the battle for Okinawa in WWII.

a true war hero[edit]

Reading his story is inspirational. Here was a man who endured taunting by his fellow soldiers for his beliefs and refusal to carry a weapon, yet earned their respect as one of the bravest people they'd ever known. Could today's conscientious objectors ever approach this man in integrity, willingness to serve, and selflessness in battle?

Answer - very few, for the same reason precious few war supporters will match the selfless heroism of Paul Ray Smith. These people are heroes in a way that few of us will or could ever be, whatever our religious or political beliefs. Do check out the article on Smith. He's the first (only?) MoH from the current fight in Iraq, awarded posthumously.

Front Page[edit]

I changed the "first" to "only", since Doss was the only C.O. to be awarded the MoH. He was the epidome of "selfless service". Rarelibra 19:11, 4 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Not the Only[edit]

Desmond Doss is NOT the only CO to win a MOH, he's the FIRST. Read the any of the articles about his death. From the Washington Post article:

"Mr. Doss was one of only two conscientious objectors to receive the Medal of Honor. Thomas W. Bennett, who was an Army corporal and medical aidman during the Vietnam War, also received the medal, according to Carol Cepregi, administrative assistant with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Bennett died while serving in Vietnam."

(Macfrugal 22:11, 6 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Stupid hippy[edit]

There is a reversion for vandalism on this article, which removed an image 'Stupid Hippy Gets Medal'. I agree, the label is offensive, but is that a real photo, of the subject of this item getting the medal? If so, and copyright is fine, it seems to be a good item to be in the article. --Dumarest 20:04, 6 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It may very well be a valid photo, but as long as it says "stupid hippy gets medal", I feel that it has no room in this article. The title is disrespectful to the honor of a MoH recipient, especially one who refused to fight and brought 75 men to safety, even offering up his stretcher when he was wounded so it could be used for someone more "seriously" wounded.
If we cannot find this image elsewhere (I'm sure we can), I say it stays away. Rarelibra 20:57, 6 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I found an actual black-and-white of Doss receiving the Medal of Honor from the POTUS. This one should stay, it does not have an offensive title. Rarelibra 21:06, 6 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Bennett was NOT listed in the list of recipients on Wiki. I have added his name. Next time, it would be nice for such reference to be included, instead of needlessly reverting WITHOUT evidence. Rarelibra 22:06, 6 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

132.241.246.111[edit]

Your "happy?" comment is not appreciated. The Medal of Honor is the highest award and is sacred, as far as I am concerned. Do you have any service time? If not, your ignorance is excused. If so, shame on you. Calling this man a "stupid hippie", sarcastically or not, is OFFENSIVE and will not be tolerated - especially in honor with his recent death.

It would have taken you 5 minutes to find another color copy, yet you persisted in reverting. Next time please refrain and do the research properly. Thank you. Rarelibra 21:34, 6 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

What a remarkable story[edit]

So pleased to have stumbled across it. It is inspiring. Cruftbane 23:02, 11 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

21 Gun Salute actually is 3 Rifle Vollies[edit]

While a news article says that Desmond Doss received a 21 gun salute, this is not correct. The 21 gun salute is a cannon salute fired only for the President or the visiting Chief of State of another nation. What a service member receives at his or her military funeral is a salute of three rifle vollies. This often is wrongly called a 21 gun salute since traditionally there has been a honor guard of seven riflemen who fire this salute.208.106.32.144 (talk) 10:57, 10 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Removed the (uncited) reference to the film in the introductory portion of the article.[edit]

It was out of place, in between the paragraph about being the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor, and the paragraph about others who have (or nearly have) received it.

And it turns out the film already had an uncited reference in the popular culture section, so it was doubly unnecessary.

Not technically a conscientious objector.[edit]

Alternatives for objectors
Conscientious objectors with Medals of Honor — Preceding unsigned comment added by 49.146.1.93 (talk) 23:24, 8 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Oxforddictionaries.com defines a conscientious objector as "A person who for reasons of conscience objects to serving in the armed forces." The "Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. Framework for communications. Conscientious Objection, which is the definition cited and used by the Wikipedia article on conscientious objection, defines it as "individuals who claim the right to refuse to perform military service...". Based on these definitions, Doss CANNOT be a conscientious objector. For one, he enlisted in the army, served and performed military service, albeit as a medic. Allow me to preempt any attempts to argue that he is generally considered a conscientious objector, I would argue that 1) these people don't know the meaning of conscientious objector, 2) consensus does not equal rightness, and 3) attempts to portray someone who DID NOT OBJECT to military service as a conscientious OBJECTOR strikes me as an attempt to redefine the noun so that those who refuse to participate in any capacity in military service (not the war effort) are categorised as cowards. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 132.185.161.132 (talk) 12:14, 2 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

MoH description[edit]

The current configuration of the "World War II service" section only lists the Bronze Star for Guam & Philippines, but doesn't mention the Medal of Honor at all. Just seems a general list of medals awarded during WWII service (like the Bronze Star) should also include the MoH, even with the entirely separate "MoH Citation" section. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.155.198.168 (talk) 18:31, 9 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I agree and have added a mention there. MB 18:47, 9 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 22 June 2019[edit]

It is with mentioning that he was a true Christian. and killing is forbidden in Christianity. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.138.176.2 (talk) 17:31, 22 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 22 June 2019[edit]

It is worth mentioning that he was a true Christian and it is forbidden to kill in Christianity according to Jesus ten commands. 141.138.176.2 (talk) 17:35, 22 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. NiciVampireHeart 20:42, 22 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion[edit]

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion:

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 06:06, 7 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

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