My Personal Connection to the New Movie "Hacksaw Ridge"

Commemorating this Friday's opening of Hacksaw Ridge, a movie about Desmond Doss, a conscientious objector who won the Medal of Honor at Okinawa while serving with my father's unit, the 77th "Liberty" Division. My dad knew of him but a Division has thousands of soldiers so I don't think he knew Pvt. Doss personally.

I'm especially happy to see this movie come out. The Marines get a lot of much-deserved credit for winning the Pacific, but the Army was there too, and not "in the rear with the gear." (That's for you, [MENTION=146732]stphnman20[/MENTION]. :wink2: )

In March 1945, Dad's Company C, 306th Regiment of the 77th started the Battle of Okinawa with 203 officers and men. Sixteen were left alive when the war ended in August.

The pics, clockwise from upper left: 1) the 77th's distinctive unit patch (look for its outline on the sides of the soldiers' helmets as an identifying mark as shown in the screenshot) and a stamp honoring acclaimed war correspondent Ernie Pyle, killed by a Japanese sniper while covering the 77th on the island of Ie Shima near Okinawa;

2) Asiatic-Pacific Campaign ribbon - the arrowhead is for the 77th's amphibious landing (similar to that shown at the start of Saving Private Ryan) at Leyte in the Philippines, each star is for a campaign (Guam, Philippines, Kerama Islands, Okinawa);

3) Bronze Star ribbon - the "V" signifies the award was for valor in battle, the oak leaf is for a 2nd award. In typical "Greatest Generation" fashion, Dad said he couldn't remember exactly what he did to warrant a medal. He thought it was for going out under fire to retrieve a wounded soldier, but added, "everybody did that when a buddy got hit." And, he told me again and again, "the real heroes were my buddies who never came home."

4) US (left) and Philippine (right) Presidential Unit Citation ribbons, awarded to the 77th for their overall contributions to victory in the Pacific.



I thought the scene shown below of the soldiers waiting on Doss to say his prayers might have been "Hollywooded" into the story, but I learned it was real. This part of the fight was on a Saturday, the Sabbath for Doss' religion, but he agreed to go into battle if he could say his prayers first, so that's what he's doing here. You'll get it when you see what he had done previously, which is why the other soldiers didn't want to go without him. It's all described in this documentary about Pvt. Doss.



I admire my father for his courage and resilience, but more so for being the man he was despite having seen things no one should ever have to see. He died in '91 after telling me, "Son, no one wants to die, but God gave me a gift of many years my buddies never had. I got to see my children grow up and to play with my grandkids. How can I be upset because my time has come?" Quite a lesson in perspective.

Thanks for sharing some of the history behind the movie. I look forward to going to it. There's not too many WWII veterans alive. Your dad was a good man and very wise. I lost my dad in 2000. He was in the European theater, with the 106th Infantry during the Battle of the Bulge. He was never one to talk much about the war. Quick to change the subject whenever it came up. Took one to the leg and one to the head. His helmet saved him. So many sacrifices made for our freedom.

If you haven't been, you need to visit the WWII memorial in DC. Well worth the trip.

The Battle of the Bulge was as rough as it gets. I asked my dad once whether he would have rather been in Europe and he said no, as bad as jungle and island warfare was, he would rather be hot than cold, something he knew from experience because he fought in Korea as well.

He was the same way as your dad about war memories. He gave away all the stuff he brought home from the war and wouldn't talk about it unless I pestered him, which I did from time to time from the sheer naivety of childhood. I know now how painful it must have been for him, though later in his life, it seemed to help when he could open up a little.

Yes, I've been to the WWII memorial and wish my dad had lived long enough to see it. If you haven't yet, I strongly suggest a trip to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. It's a amazing tribute to the men and women of all branches.

My dad was also wounded once, by shrapnel at Okinawa. The "body armor" in those days were these pocket-sized Bibles with metal covers that were meant to be carried in the left shirt pocket, above the heart. That's exactly where it was and it stopped the biggest piece of metal. No Purple Heart though because he said the medics were busy with other who were "really wounded" so he patched himself up and went on his way.

That's an amazing story, the movie is on my short list to see. The Greatest Generation is passing away quickly, they are heroes every one, men and women who served. Total respects.

Mad respect to your father and all those who served in WWII.

Thanks for sharing!

Can't wait to see this movie. I have nothing but the utmost respect for the men and women of those days, who put aside their differences and rallied behind a higher cause.

Every once in a while, I'll see an elderly gentleman about, wearing a hat with a WW2 unit or campaign on it. It always stops me dead in my tracks, and I always have to shake their hand and thank them. It also reminds me that there's really not many of these people left. Sometimes I feel like seeking them out, just to talk to them and hear their stories. I only personally know one WW2 veteran, but she never went overseas.


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Thanks for sharing your story. I'm looking forward to that movie and also Nolan's upcoming Dunkirk which will of course be shot with IMAX 70MM cameras.

My dad was there too. Growing up all the glamour of WWII was focused on the European Theater. It's good these stories are coming out. He was drafted as a college graduate and stayed in and retired as a Colonel in the early 60's. He was 52 when he fathered me. Go dad. He bought a Toyota in 1973 so he didn't hold a grudge.

Nervo19 said:

My dad was there too. Growing up all the glamour of WWII was focused on the European Theater. It's good these stories are coming out. He was drafted as a college graduate and stayed in and retired as a Colonel in the early 60's. He was 52 when he fathered me. Go dad. He bought a Toyota in 1973 so he didn't hold a grudge.

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Interesting...my dad was a contradiction on that. He despised the country of Japan but had nothing but compassion for the people, who he interacted with quite a bit during the 77th's time in the occupation forces. On the few occasions we met Japanese people, he was kind and polite to them, even conversing with them in Japanese, which caught me way off guard the first time because I had never heard him say a word in that language.

I got some perspective about his attitude while doing research in the National Archives after he passed away. Found a big file box titled, "Enemy Atrocities Discovered During 77th Division Operations in the Philippines." Each folder was a different incident and the inhuman barbarity described in there was the stuff nightmares are made of. Those soldiers saw it practiced on civilians and on any of their buddies who were captured or ambushed and left as examples.

Something he said to my mom once always stuck with me in terms of what the stress of battle must do to people. They were driving and had passed something miles back. My mom said she wished she had noted some detail about it, I can't remember what, but my dad instantly told her what it was. She kind of laughed and said, "You don't miss much, do you?" He didn't laugh, he just said "You learn not to when your life depends on it."

So the Army had quite the sense of humor, or maybe irony is a better word. They posted my dad back to Okinawa in 1964. I was very small but remember much about the island, mainly the many beautiful shrines and the incredibly blue Pacific.

This pic was taken the following year during the 20th anniversary commemoration of the battle. He's looking at a huge battle map of the island in a museum, and it always seemed to me that he was thinking of all of those buddies who never came home.

It's only fitting that on this day we all owe so much to our men and women who served and continue to serve to preserve our freedom. For many, they made the ultimate sacrifice. My heartfelt appreciation goes out to your father's and my dad as well during this time of remembrance.

I haven't seen the movie, but your story has reminded me of some conversation with my grandfather, now passed. Here are some stories i remember him telling me.

First, he joined the Navy at age 17, when you had to be 18. He lied on his paper work. He was a SeaBee, and went to Okinawa to help the rebuilding process at the end of the war. He was always a skinny man, and he told me on the boat in rough conditions, when sailers were puking everywhere, he'd ask to eat their rations and would take their hot dogs. Tough kid then.

He didn't speak much of any combat if he saw any, but he did talk about some things he did when they weren't fighting. They'd take machine guns and run them continuously until their barrels melted and warped. Then they'd take the amphibious vehicles, Ducks, some beer and boat out about a mile off shore and pull the drain plug. They'd drink their beer and swim back after it sank. They also hot rodded and rebuilt the motorcycles they had.

He did say that he got in a situation where he had to kill a Japanese solider, and ended up with that gun. That was passed down to my mom and my brother. Anyways, when he steamed back to the US, he brought a ton of guns with him and had them ready to take with him. Over the speaker on the boat, they said "leave all weapons on board. Do not take any guns". So, he left all of them (minus the rifle) at his bunk and when off the ship, noticed everyone else had taken theirs. So, he followed orders that likely weren't enforced and missed the opportunity for some neat memorabilia for his future grandchildren (which he hadn't even thought of at the time!!!).

I'm not going to lie to you, [MENTION=114846]Bluesky 07[/MENTION] I went and watched the movie with my wife last night and couldn't hold back the tears. I kept thinking about my dad, and all those men who fought so hard in both the Pacific and the European theaters, and made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

For those that survived, I can't imagine the horrors they have/had to live with for the rest of their lives. So many people take our freedom for granted. It's become so cliche to wish someone a "Happy Veteran's day".

Thanks for posting. Your connection to the movie made it so much more worthwhile and relevant.

Rock_Rat said:

I'm not going to lie to you, [MENTION=114846]Bluesky 07[/MENTION] I went and watched the movie with my wife last night and couldn't hold back the tears. I kept thinking about my dad, and all those men who fought so hard in both the Pacific and the European theaters, and made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

For those that survived, I can't imagine the horrors they have/had to live with for the rest of their lives. So many people take our freedom for granted. It's become so cliche to wish someone a "Happy Veteran's day".

Thanks for posting. Your connection to the movie made it so much more worthwhile and relevant.

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What you said about my connection making the film more relevant is unexpected and so appreciated. I hadn't really thought of it in that way. Thank you.

Your post also reminded me that I never came back to share my thoughts after seeing it. I had the same reaction as you did.

For others who plan to see the movie, there are no spoilers here, just info and perspective. First, be aware it is as graphic as any war movie ever made. Though such realistic depictions are tough to watch, I applaud them for a couple of reasons: it should dispel any silly notions about war being anything glorious, and because it brings into sharp focus exactly why vets returning from combat often have issues.

If you see it, keep in mind that it shows the tip of the iceberg in terms of what these soldiers went through. The movie battle is over a couple of days; the entire Battle of Okinawa lasted 82 days and most of it was as brutal as that shown in the film. Also consider that Okinawa was the 77th Division's 4th campaign - they previously fought in equally bloody battles at Guam, Leyte (Philippines), and the Kerama Islands (near Okinawa).

None of those was a picnic. For example, while searching the National Archives for info on Leyte, I ran across a large box of files labeled, "Enemy Atrocities Discovered During 77th Division Operations in the Philippines." The titles of the folders in it were the stuff nightmares are made of.

What's crazy too is that for all that's in the movie, it's also just the tip of the iceberg in terms of Desmond Doss' heroics. Director Mel Gibson didn't show all of it because he felt it was too incredible for audiences to believe. He may be right; read Doss' Medal of Honor citation and decide for yourself.

Many awful aspects of Okinawa are (mercifully) not shown, for example the wholesale Japanese slaughter of residents, including women and children; mass suicides, also by residents who had been frightened by Japanese propaganda saying they would be tortured and killed by US troops; kamikaze attacks; booby-traps; and so on.

There are two shrines on Okinawa I remember visiting when we lived there in the '60s. One was Suicide Cliff, where hundreds of residents leapt to their deaths. Entire families often jumped, holding hands, as GI's pleaded with them that they would not be harmed. Sadly, they didn't understand English and/or didn't believe the soldiers. The other was a cave where all the school-age girls on the island were kept "for their safety." The Japanese machine-gunned them all rather than let them be liberated.

I left the movie with my heart hurting for my dad's soul and those of all the men on both sides, and deeper respect and admiration for my father. Not just because he fought with valor; in fact, it's much more because of the man he was able to be despite losing so many of his buddies and having seen and experienced such unimaginably horrific things.