Dear my beloved family,

World War ll is atrocious, and God forbid that another world war ever take place.  As you know from my youth days, I walk in the armed forces unarmed. Violence is never an answer to our problem, and it is sorrowful to see the brutality that was occurring here.  In violence, we forget who we truly are, so this is why I fight / fought unarmed. My goal is to save lives without taking any as you are strongly aware of. Peace isn’t always going to be the answer, but for now that is my biggest weapon.  A few days ago, the soldiers and I were preparing for the fight in which we finished yesterday. I probably shouldn't be informing you with this information, but I trust it won’t leave your mouths mom and dad. It was called the battle of “Hacksaw Ridge”.  It was a gruesome battle, so many lives were lost. The U.S. was at a loss and didn’t have any other options but then to fight. We had to get to the top of a 400-foot cliff where heavily armed Japanese soldiers were awaiting us. We loaded out heavy duty guns, polished our other weapons, and headed to the ridge.  We all had to keep a mindset of “Defeat the enemy at any cost” even if that means costing you your life. We arrived at “Hacksaw Ridge”, my heart was beating out of my chest, I kept you on my mind during this time; you all helped me get through the battle which was about to come. We had a few men climb to the top using special equipment such as strong ropes, climbing boots, and gloves to grab onto parts of the jagged cliff.  Once the men reached the top, they attached the net so all the soldiers and myself could climb to the top. We all started to climb slowly up the net, quietly, and safely. We all reached the top after a long and fear filled climb up. The Sargent then gave us orders to make progress along the edges of the cliff then carefully close in and meet up in the middle to prepare to fight the japanese on the front line. I refused to carry a weapon, they all laughed at me and told me I was going to be the first to die.  I told them I would be right behind them and the front line waiting for them if any of them got hurt. I would help them with whatever it may be. I didn’t let their negative hatful war filled thoughts and actions get at my mission I came here to complete; save those in need of help, and for my brothers to defeat the enemy. The officers commanded us in and to go to the front line. I stayed slightly back as I wasn’t carrying a weapon. Before I knew it, the men were set up and loading their weapons. I heard the sounds of their guns while I tucked behind a rock.  BOOM, something just blew up, the Japanese had just thrown a bomb over the paths we had dug holes into the ground for safety. We just entered what would be from the current day April 1st, 1945 to June 22 1945. Our men fought back, they shot and killed the enemy soldiers, but I kept an eye out for any of our soldiers if they got hit, and there were none, we did an outstanding job of taking cover in the divets of the ground. The day drew to an end and we swapped out soldiers for the night shift while we retreated to the bottom of the cliff. Day in and day out soldiers switched in and out, many casualties has occurred.  Some from the U.S. side, and many from the Japanese. I busted my butt every day. I saw horrific deaths, needless deaths from our side occur, but that’s what kept me going. Within in first 50 days of this awful battle, I carried at least 40 dead bodies by hand, to the end of the cliff so we would give them a proper burial and identify them so we could let their families know what had taken place. I had to just leave many soldiers there, as there would be no sense in bringing them back, they were in pieces, limbs everywhere. Long days and cold nights went by. I was getting tired of fighting, it seemed like there was no end in sight.  Day in and day out, men died from both sides, tons of ammunition was used and, medical supplies were beginning to run lower each day. Looking back at it now, it was close to the last week of the battle. I went up to the ridge each day praying this battle would end soon, and that fewer lives would need to be taken and that this battle would just stop. I carried many men in my last week of battle but not as many towards the last few days. It got very gruesome the last few days that I had been fighting, but I still refused to carry a weapon. The last few days of battle ( which I was unaware were the last few days ) approached very quickly as I reflect upon it now.  I got up to the top of the ridge. My ears shattered with the sound of bombs and bullets scattering everywhere. I slowly and steadily work my way close to where the madness was occuring. I see many injured but not being treated. I grab an injured man, dusted his face off, put him over my shoulder and carefully carried him back to the edge of the cliff where I could lower him to get him medical attention. I looked for what I could lower him with, I was perplexed, there wasn’t anything of a sparked interest on how to save him. But I managed, I used a rope from part of the net, I tied the man into safety harness I made with the rope. I put the other end of the rope around a jagged rock and slowly lowered him down until men at the bottom could untie him and I could pull the rope back up.  I went back to the front line and saw another man injured, big bullet holes in his right leg. It was Marco, one of the mates I trained with. He didn't really ever like me. Beside the point, I dusted his face off, tied my string from my backpack around his leg to stop the bleeding. Put him over my shoulder, and ran to the edge of the cliff to lower him. I put him in the harness and repeated the process again. When he was lowered, I would say “ Dear God, help me to just get one more,” time after time. I went back countless times and found many soldiers which were able to still live if treated medically. I looked high and low, up, and down, repeatedly and always managed to find a man worth saving. I would lower them down the rope and get them to medial safety. “Dear God, help me to just get one more,” I would say again.  And god never failed me, I had close encounters with the japanese almost shooting me, but fortunately they never did. By the end of that day, many lives were lost, again, from both sides. But there was hope, hope in a white tattered flag that was raised by the Japanese towards the end of the night. We won! The Americans had gained a victory, the battle was done. I had saved over the course of this time roughly 75 lives. Many argue I did it alone; but I didn’t. God helped me, he got me through the hardest times, being able to lower those men down with a rope using my bare hands isn’t just any talent, it's a God given one. I had a degree of rope burn on my hands so severe, the generals said it’s amazing I did what I did, given the condition of my hands. But I kept going to show everyone that I could make an impact on the group of men I had trained with.  But more importantly to show them I could fight without using a weapon and still be of strong beneficial, and positive use. I was invited to the White House coming this October to receive a medal of honor for my work here. I did it, mom and dad, I did it. I am safe now, and when you get this letter just know the war in which I had been fighting was over. I am coming home now, you will see me soon. I had doubt going into this war on how things would turn out with me not carrying a weapon, but I shouldn't have. I showed them all that war isn’t just about taking lives, It’s also about saving them.

My deepest love,

Desmond Doss.