Combat medic of the United States Army during World War II who distinguished himself during the Battle of Okinawa. He saved 75 wounded infantrymen while refusing to kill an enemy soldier or carry a weapon into combat due to his Seventh-day Aventist beliefs.
He helped support his family during the Great Depression by working at the Lynchburg Lumber Company.
He was the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor, and the only conscientious objector to receive the medal during World War II.
He was born the son of a carpenter and homemaker and raised alongside siblings named Audrey and Harold. He married Dorothy Schutte with whom he had one son named Desmond "Tommy" Doss Jr. He later married Frances Duman after Dorothy passed away in a car accident.
He was portrayed by Andrew Garfield in the Mel Gibson-directed film Hacksaw Ridge.
