The military was not amused. His fellow soldiers at Fort Jackson called him a coward. They beat him in his bunk at night. They threw shoes at his head during prayer. His commanding officers tried to court-martial him for "refusing to follow direct orders." They declared him mentally unfit. They threatened him with a court-martial that could have sent him to prison for years.
In a cinematic landscape often saturated with cynical anti-heroes and morally ambiguous narratives, Mel Gibson’s 2016 biographical war drama, Hacksaw Ridge , arrived as a defiant anomaly. It is a film that dares to preach, that dares to glorify pacifism within the most violent of settings, and that utilizes the visceral horror of combat to elevate a story of singular faith. Released a decade after Gibson’s previous directorial effort, the film not only marked a resurgence for the controversial filmmaker but also stood as one of the most powerful war films of the 21st century. hacksaw ridge 2016
When he was finally shot in the leg by a sniper, he didn't call for a stretcher. He gave his stretcher to a man with worse injuries. As he was being carried off, he saw a soldier who had been shot in the chest. Doss rolled off his stretcher, dragged the man onto it, and said, "Take him." He then walked two miles back to the aid station with a sniper’s bullet in his leg and a broken arm from a grenade blast. The military was not amused
The film meticulously chronicles the skepticism and abuse Doss endured during basic training. His fellow soldiers viewed his refusal to bear arms as cowardice, a liability that could get them killed. His commanding officers attempted to court-martial him. Yet, Doss remained steadfast. His desire was not to avoid service, but to serve as a medic—perhaps the most dangerous job on the battlefield. They threw shoes at his head during prayer
You came here to learn about , but you leave with the ghost of Desmond Doss. The final moments of the film show the real-life archival footage of Doss receiving his Medal of Honor. President Harry S. Truman leans over and whispers to him, "They say you saved 75 men." Doss replies, "Well, I could have saved more, sir, if they'd let me."