Statement in Support of the Desmond Doss Medal of Honor
6/18/1945
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First Lieutenant Cecil L. Gornto submitted this statement describing the heroic action of Private First Class
Desmond Doss, a medic with Gornto's platoon. Gornto's statement, and others like it, supported awarding Doss the Medal of Honor.
Doss was a contentious objector during World War II. He entered the military, but refused to kill enemy soldiers or carry a weapon because of his religious beliefs as a Seventh-day Adventist. As a medic, he served in a non-combatant role. He was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1945 – one of the few conscientious objectors ever to earn the award – for his heroic action assisting injured soldiers near Urasoe-Mura, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands.
This primary source comes from the Records of U.S. Army Operational, Tactical, and Support Organizations (World War II and Thereafter).
National Archives Identifier:
595200Full Citation: 1LT Cecil L. Gornto's Statement Used in Support of the Desmond Doss Medal of Honor; 6/18/1945; 200.6 Awards and Decorations "D"; Correspondence Files, 1944 - 1945; Records of U.S. Army Operational, Tactical, and Support Organizations (World War II and Thereafter), Record Group 338; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/gorntos-statement, May 4, 2024]