Private First Class Desmond T. Doss Va Clinic

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for S. 3938, a bill to designate the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Lynchburg, Virginia, as the Private First Class Desmond T. Doss VA Clinic. I thank my colleague Senator Warner for introducing it.

Private First Class Doss served with extraordinary courage during many of World War II's fiercest battles. His actions saved the lives of hundreds of his fellow soldiers, despite never being an active combatant, and his story is nothing short of heroic. I am proud to support this bill to honor his service.

The son of a decorated World War I veteran, Mr. Doss was raised in Lynchburg, Virginia, as a devout Seventh-day Adventist. A cornerstone of his faith was pacificism, but despite this, he enlisted into the Army in April of 1942 following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

During our Nation's darkest hour, he made the patriotic decision to balance his religious belief in nonviolence with a calling to protect his Nation by pursuing a nonarmed role as an Army medic. Assigned to 2nd Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 307th Infantry Division, Private First Class Doss soon found himself in some of the Pacific theater's most intense combat. Notably, he was awarded two Bronze Star Medals for exceptional valor in Guam and the Philippines, aiding wounded soldiers under fire.

Private First Class Doss and the members of the 77th Infantry Division were assigned a major role during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, the bloodiest conflict in the Pacific. The nearly 3-month-long battle resulted in roughly 49,000 American casualties, including 13,000 servicemembers who were killed in action.

Private First Class Doss demonstrated extraordinary heroism during the Battle of Okinawa, saving upwards of over 100 soldiers over the course of the conflict while routinely placing himself in the line of fire. Many of the casualties he saved were during operations during the notorious Maeda Escarpment, commonly called Hacksaw Ridge.

Time and again in the conflict, Private First Class Doss exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire to provide aid to wounded soldiers and evacuate them to safety.

Even when Private First Class Doss sustained his own injuries, he never gave up on providing aid to his fellow soldiers. While tending to wounded soldiers during a night raid, Private First Class Doss was seriously wounded in the legs from a grenade blast. To avoid having another medic risk his life to save him, he valiantly cared for his own wounds and waited 5 hours before a medical evacuation team could reach him.

Noticing a critically wounded soldier nearby, Private First Class Doss crawled off the litter he was laying on and ensured his evacuation team cared for that man first. In all, Private First Class Doss saved the lives of 75 wounded infantrymen.

For his tremendous bravery and heroism, Private First Class Doss was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman on October 12, 1945.

The immense courage, sacrifice, and patriotism that Private First Class Doss displayed while serving in the Pacific theater are in many ways unfathomable.

As a nation, we owe him a debt of gratitude that can never be fully repaid, but we should commit to honoring his legacy. I can think of no better way to ensure that his service is remembered for generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, I support this important piece of legislation, and I ask that my colleagues do the same.

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Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask all my colleagues to join me in passing S. 3938 to designate the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Lynchburg, Virginia, as the Private First Class Desmond T. Doss VA Clinic, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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