What I’m Reading – Redemption at Hacksaw Ridge (The Official Authorized story of Desmond Doss) by Booton Herndon

Have you ever had a book just show up on your shelf?

I was looking through my collection, spotted this, and frankly, I don’t have a clue where it came from.

I didn’t purchase it. I don’t recall anyone giving it to me. And when we closed down the library at the church, I don’t recall picking it out of the discards.

I knew who Desmond Doss was, and I knew he’s won the Congressional Medal of Honor.

I hadn’t seen the movie and the mere fact the book had shown up on my shelves made me want to read it even more.

So, I read the story of an American Hero.

I am well familiar with the Seventh Day Adventists. I know of their refusal to carry weapons in wartime. I also knew that despite that, they’re among the first to come forward to be medics and such. So it didn’t surprise me that Desmond Doss went into the military as a medic. What surprised me was the reaction a lot of those around him had to him.

His refusal to carry a weapon caused him to clash with his superiors on more than one occasion. But his steadfast belief in God and what he believed was something he considered worth fighting for. Fortunately, the regulations were on his side and he won several times. That didn’t stop some men from resenting him. One in particular, a man named Karger, even promised him that if they went into combat, he’d shoot him himself.

It wasn’t until they started training that some of that went away. Doss was always there for his troops,. he considered it a sacred charge to do what he was doing and would do it to the best of his ability.

Then they went into the War Against Japan in the Pacific. Doss really shone there. More than once, he moved under enemy fire to rescue the wounded or treat them and then evac them. What had been contempt before became respect. Even Krager, on one occasion, hunted him down and asked Doss to pray for him.

His gallantry at the so-called Escarpment (Hacksaw Ridge) is the stuff of legends. With wounded men who needed help, Doss is credited with saving over fifty men (his estimate. The official estimate is higher).

The books also follow his life after the war. Despite being a living legend, he stayed humble and true to God.

I finished the book, appreciating the man more than I had before. If I’m ever in the town he’s buried in, I’ll stop and pay my respects to a great American and Godly man.