Corporal Doss receiving the Medal of Honor from
President Harry S. Truman.

Private First Class Desmond T. Doss of Lynchburg, Virginia,
was presented the Medal of Honor for outstanding bravery
as a combat medic, the first conscientious objector in
American history to receive the nation’s highest military
award.
 

When called on by his country to fight in World War II, Doss,
a dedicated pacifist, registered as a conscientious objector.

Eventually sent to the Pacific theater of war as a medical
corpsman, Doss voluntarily put his life in the utmost peril
during the bloody Battle for Okinawa, saving dozens of lives
well beyond the call of duty.

Desmond Thomas Doss
(February 7, 1919 – March 23, 2006)

The 2016 film directed by Mel Gibson focuses
on the combat experiences of Desmond Doss.