Councilman Yusuf Hakeem, veteran Grady Rhoten and Chattanooga veteran and businessman John Edwards
Doss gravesite
General Raines with Charles Googe
Opening ceremony with cemetery in background
Les Speer, Mr. Doss's pastor
A commemorative event scheduled on the 11th anniversary of Medal of Honor recipient Desmond T. Doss’s death drew a large crowd, many who had known the quiet hero and many who had been inspired by the biographical movie, Hacksaw Ridge. The ceremony, conducted graveside at the Chattanooga National Cemetery, combined solemn and sacred elements sprinkled with moments of joyful recollection.
Desmond Doss joined the United States Army on April 1, 1942. Three and a half years later, he stood on the White House lawn, receiving the nation’s highest award for his bravery and courage under fire. Of the 16 million men in uniform during World War II, only 431 received the Congressional Medal of Honor. Among these was a young Seventh-day Adventist Christian who refused to carry a gun and had not killed a single enemy soldier. His only weapons were his Bible and his faith in God. President Harry S. Truman warmly held the hand of Desmond T. Doss, as his citation was read to those gathered at the White House on October 12, 1945. “I’m proud of you,” Truman said. “You really deserve this. I consider this a greater honor than being president.”
As Major General Bill Raines, U.S. Army [Retired] recalled this biographical story for the audience, many nodding their agreement. General Raines, chairman of the Board of the Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center, explained the significant of the Medal of Honor and Private Doss’s actions. General Raines was joined at the podium by Brigadier General Carl Levi who was Doss’s friend for over 50 years and served as one of his pallbearers.
“Desmond Doss was a small man in statute but a giant man in his actions,” General Levi noted. The ceremony including a posting of the colors by the local Sea Cadets and the placement of a wreath at the gravesite by TSDAR Cherokee District Director Teresa Rimer and Vice-Commander Owen Cook, the Desmond Doss American Legion Post # 257. Les Speer, the Secretary of the Desmond Doss Council and Mr. Doss’s pastor offered a poignant benediction recalling Doss’s love of God and nation and including a paraphrase of Lincoln’s historic words regarding the ‘hallowed’ ground of Gettysburg.
The event was organized by Linda Moss Mines, Chattanooga-Hamilton County historian and was sponsored by the Desmond Doss Council, the Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Site, the Chief John Ross Chapter, TSDAR, the Desmond T. Doss American Legion Post # 257 and the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Ernie Pyle Chapter 1945.
General Raines pledged to the crowd that Corporal Doss’s service and legacy would not be forgotten and that a commemoration service would occur on each anniversary.