One of my favorite film genres is Action Films. And within that genre, I enjoy watching movies depicting historical events such as Black Hawk Down and Pearl Harbor. In all of the films, I have watched the characters participating in the war are always armed to the teeth. It makes sense since there wouldn’t be anyone who would be “crazy” or “stupid” enough to go to war with the possession of weapons. These are some of the few nasty words that his fellow soldiers would call Desmon Doss during their military training. Their reason was that Desmon Doss was actually willing to volunteer in the US army with the condition that he would not kill anyone. What made Desmond Doss make this choice was his deep religious belief. He was a Seventh-day Adventist and the 6th commandment prohibits him from committing murder.

He signed up for The US Army during World War II in order to fight in the Pacific theater against Japan. Yet, he was given a rough time during his early career due to everyone around him not wanting him to participate in the war without a weapon. He was verbally and physically abused by everyone that surrounded him. At one point he was left heavily wounded after many attackers brutally punched and kicked him. Yet, he persevered and decided to continue his training. He was even falsely accused of having mental problems so that we would be discharged. And at one point was one taken to court for not following orders of a higher commander. Nobody in the military wanted him around, yet soon everybody’s mind would quickly change when they enter the battlefield. In fact, many would be lucky if such a brave soldier was by their side.

During the US Army’s campaign in the Pacific theatre, they were stuck on Okinawa, Japan. His battalion was sent to the Hacksaw Ridge battleground to take over the strategic military location. Of course, the Japanese Army was highly aware of its importance and every square inch was heavily protected from invaders. During one the battles against the Japanese, the battalion was surprised by the Japanese causing them to surrender their position. It was swarmed with so many enemy soldiers that support fire was provided by neighboring ships. Despite this Desmond Doss decided to stay behind and save as many wounded soldiers as he could. At this point, I could not believe what I was seeing. I couldn’t believe such a brave man was willing to stay back in a war zone filled with enemy soldiers and bombarded by tons of artillery. His act of courage was so highly praised by everyone around him that he went from being the most hated man in the war to a national hero that would later be awarded the Medal Honor. I am truly grateful for all the brave man that serve, or have served, the United States through military service.