Using cargo nets, Doss' battalion was tasked with climbing a treacherous, 400-foot-high jagged cliff, nicknamed Hacksaw Ridge, to get to a plateau. Waiting for them were thousands of heavily armed Japanese soldiers entrenched in hidden caves and holes.

How historically accurate is Hacksaw Ridge?

Real-life hero Desmond Doss saved 75 soldiers in WWII without firing a shot, as depicted in the 2016 biographical war film Hacksaw Ridge, directed by Mel Gibson. Despite some minor changes to the story, Hacksaw Ridge was praised by Doss's son for its historical accuracy.

How many bodies did Hacksaw Ridge save?

Desmond Doss CMH award by US Federal Government is in the public domain. [1]Desmond Doss is credited with saving 75 soldiers during one of the bloodiest battles of World War II in the Pacific — and he did it without ever carrying a weapon.

How high was the climb to Hacksaw Ridge?

The real “Hacksaw Ridge” is the eastern end of the Urasoe-Mura Escarpment on Okinawa, and the cliff face there is approximately 400 feet high.

How many Japanese died at Hacksaw Ridge?

As usual on Okinawa, Japanese casualties were many times greater than the number of American lives lost. Upwards of 3,000 Japanese are believed to have died in the fight for Hacksaw Ridge.

E154: Tour of Hacksaw Ridge - WW2 Okinawa Battle Sites

Who was the highest ranking soldier killed in ww2?

Among the dead was the Tenth Army's commander, Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., killed on June 18 by enemy artillery fire during the final offensive. He was the highest-ranking American general killed in action during World War II.

How many U.S. soldiers were killed on Hacksaw Ridge?

As fighting surged back and forth over the ridge for several days, about 2,500 Americans lost their lives and nearly twice as many Japanese troops, said Chris Majewski, a former marine who, as director of the island's battle of Okinawa museum, leads regular battlefield tours of the site.

Did the Japanese target medics?

The Japanese liked to target corpsmen and Army medics, as well as doctors. They knew if they hurt or killed someone with medical training, they wouldn't be able to help other wounded Marines or soldiers.

Who was the soldier who refused to carry a gun?

Desmond Thomas Doss (February 7, 1919 – March 23, 2006) was an American 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.

Why didn't they cut the rope at Hacksaw Ridge?

This question has been answered in a documentary starring the actual Desmond Doss. The japanese didn't cut the rope because that was the only entrance to the battlefield.

Did Desmond Doss really help a Japanese soldier?

On May 4, 1945, Doss spent 12 hours single-handedly retrieving and lowering wounded soldiers from the battlefield to safety, down the edge of the cliff at Hacksaw Ridge. He tried to rescue both American and Japanese soldiers, though no Japanese soldiers survived.

What rank was Desmond Doss?

Corporal Desmond T. Doss (7 February 1919 - 23 March 2006) was the first conscientious objector (he detested that phrase, preferring "conscientious cooperator") to receive the Medal of Honor and one of only three so honored.

Did the US lose Hacksaw Ridge?

Eventually, the Americans took Hacksaw Ridge. Okinawa was captured inch by bloody inch. Several days later, during an unsuccessful night raid, Desmond was severely wounded.

Did the Japanese surrender at Hacksaw Ridge?

In doing so, the Allied forces had a foothold for the planned invasion of mainland Japan. However, the development of the atomic bomb led to the surrender of Japan, meaning the war ended only a few months after the successful capture of Hacksaw Ridge.

How bloody was Hacksaw Ridge?

Violence & Gore (16)

They are long, and filled with bloody gunfire, graphic stabbings with knives and bayonets, and many explosions which separate limbs and leave blood everywhere. Guts, limbs, intestines, and blood everywhere.

Did Desmond Doss have PTSD?

born 1946. Still living. Did Desmond's PTSD effect his relationship with his son? Yes.

Who was the soldier who never surrendered?

Hiroo Onoda (Japanese: 小野田 寛郎, Hepburn: Onoda Hiroo, 19 March 1922 – 16 January 2014) was a Japanese intelligence officer of the Imperial Japanese Army who fought in World War II and did not surrender at the war's end in August 1945.

Who was the last US soldier executed for desertion?

Of the thousands of American soldiers court-martialed for desertion in World War II, Eddie Slovik was the only one put to death. One of the judges who convicted him looks back with regret.

What is the powder soldier put on wounds?

From the collection of The National Liberation Museum, Netherlands, #094.117. If you watch a World War II movie like Band of Brothers, you'll see medics sprinkling a yellow powder on wounds—that's sulfa powder, or sulfanilimade. The ubiquitous bandage packs given to soldiers in the war years were coated in it.

How did the Japanese treat captured soldiers?

The POWs suffered frequent beatings and mistreatment from their Japanese guards, food was the barest minimum, and disease and injuries went untreated. Although the POWs finally received Red Cross packages in January 1944, the Japanese had removed all the drugs and medical supplies.

Was killing a medic a war crime in ww2?

Even though it is a war crime, some soldiers will still attack medics. An example of this is the Japanese military during World War II, when officers would pay soldiers extra money for killing medics.

What did the Japanese think of us marines?

WW2 Japanese soldiers were terrified of U.S. Marines because their officers told them they would be eaten if they surrendered.

Why was Okinawa so bloody?

So close to the home islands, most Japanese soldiers refused to surrender and fought to the death. Their fanaticism contributed to a dreadful toll. Some 110,000 Japanese and conscripted Okinawan defenders were killed in action. The battle created a humanitarian disaster for civilians as well.

Was Iwo Jima or Okinawa worse?

On Iwo Jima, Marines achieved a costly victory as they grappled with tenacious Japanese defenders dug into the island's volcanic terrain. Americans faced even worse on Okinawa, the natural springboard for an invasion of Japan's home islands.