MILITARY PERSONNEL

Desmond Doss

1919 - 2006

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Desmond Thomas Doss (February 7, 1919 – March 23, 2006) was a United States Army corporal who served as a combat medic with an infantry company in World War II. Due to his religious beliefs, he refused to carry a weapon. He was twice awarded the Bronze Star Medal for actions on Guam and in the Philippines. Doss further distinguished himself in the Battle of Okinawa by saving an estimated 75 men, acting on his own, becoming the first of only three conscientious objectors to receive the Medal of Honor for this and other actions, the others being Thomas W. Bennett and Joseph G. LaPointe Jr., who were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. His life has been the subject of books, the 2004 documentary The Conscientious Objector, and the 2016 Oscar-winning film Hacksaw Ridge, in which he was portrayed by Andrew Garfield. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Desmond Doss is the 190th most popular military personnel (up from 241st in 2019), the 140th most popular biography from Greece (up from 156th in 2019) and the 12th most popular Greek Military Personnel.

Desmond Doss is most famous for being the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor.

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Among MILITARY PERSONNELS

Among military personnels, Desmond Doss ranks 190 out of 2,058. Before him are Alois Brunner, Joachim Peiper, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., Helmuth von Moltke the Younger, Felix Steiner, and Aleksandr Vasilevsky. After him are Paul Hausser, Maxime Weygand, Abraha, Gertrude Bell, Georg von Küchler, and Captain Tom.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1919, Desmond Doss ranks 18. Before him are G. E. M. Anscombe, Giulio Andreotti, Choi Kyu-hah, Zhao Ziyang, Moïse Tshombe, and William Lipscomb. After him are Matilde Camus, Walter Scheel, Fausto Coppi, Pierre Trudeau, Georgios Papadopoulos, and Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington. Among people deceased in 2006, Desmond Doss ranks 19. Before him are James Brown, Syd Barrett, György Ligeti, Philippe Noiret, Choi Kyu-hah, and Mako. After him are Johannes Rau, Heinrich Harrer, Oriana Fallaci, Ibrahim Rugova, Giacinto Facchetti, and Anna Politkovskaya.

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In Greece

Among people born in Greece, Desmond Doss ranks 140 out of 1,024. Before him are Prodicus (-460), Antipope Alexander V (1339), Agesilaus II (-444), Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark (1882), Ioannis Metaxas (1871), and Oruç Reis (1473). After him are Antonia Minor (-36), Hippias (-600), Nâzım Hikmet (1902), Djemal Pasha (1872), Perseus of Macedon (-212), and Nabis (-300).

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Among MILITARY PERSONNELS In Greece

Among military personnels born in Greece, Desmond Doss ranks 12. Before him are Pyrrhus of Epirus (-318), Seleucus I Nicator (-358), Mardonius (-600), Hephaestion (-356), Cimon (-510), and Pittacus of Mytilene (-650). After him are Djemal Pasha (1872), Parmenion (-400), Pausanias (null), Lysander (-401), Craterus (-370), and Nearchus (-356).

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