Desmond Thomas Doss was a United States Army corporal who fought in World War II as a combat medic with an infantry company. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal twice for his actions in Guam and the Philippines.
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Doss worked as a joiner in a shipyard in Newport News, Virginia, prior to the outbreak of World War II.
On April 1, 1942, at Camp Lee, Virginia, he chose military service over a deferral due to his shipyard work.
Doss intended to continue his carpentry trade after the war, but a serious injury to his left arm prevented him from doing so.
Doss died on March 23, 2006, at his home in Piedmont, Alabama, after being hospitalized for trouble breathing.
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Image Credit: Desmond Doss
Desmond Doss parents: Meet William Thomas Doss & Bertha Edward Doss
Desmond Doss was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, to William Thomas Doss, a carpenter, and Bertha Edward Doss, a homemaker and shoe factory worker.
His mother raised him as a devout Seventh-day Adventist and instilled Sabbath-keeping, nonviolence, and a vegetarian lifestyle in his upbringing.
He grew up in the Fairview Heights area of Lynchburg, Virginia, alongside his older sister Audrey and younger brother Harold.
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