The Medic: Miracle on Hacksaw Ridge by Adam Palmer

Author:Adam Palmer [Palmer, Adam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: DJ Press
Published: 2014-11-23T16:00:00+00:00

August 3, 1944

Cleaning Out Guam

After the village was secured, Doss and his pal Glenn were walking past the collecting area where all the dead native and American bodies had been laid out. Doss paused.

“Glenn, hold up a second. I thought I heard a sound coming from one of those dead natives.”

“Maybe it’s a ghost,” his friend laughed.

“Quit joking around Glenn. You know there’s no such thing as ghosts. I think one of those guys just moaned.”

Doss and Glenn moved closer to where the bodies were stacked. Even though they both listened intently, neither could detect a sound.

“It must have been your imagination, I don’t hear a thing.”

“I don’t hear anything either, now, but I’m gonna check all these natives just to make sure.”

“Get outta here. You really wanna go and cause yourself all that work? Don’t you think someone made sure they were dead before they stacked them here?”

“Maybe so, but it won’t take that long to double check especially if you help me out.”

Doss bent down and began to feel the first body for a pulse.

“You really gonna to do this? How you know these natives are even worth saving?”

“I don’t know, but I’m gonna try. Jesus does everything he can to save each man. Don’t you think he wants us to do the same? Are you going to help me or not?”

“Okay buddy, you win. I’ll help.”

After examining several bodies, Doss thought he detected a very weak pulse in one of them.

“Glenn! I think I found him.”

Glenn came over and felt for a pulse. “I don’t believe it. This guy's really alive. I’ll go for a stretcher.”

While Glenn raced off toward the aid-station, Doss continued to examine the native. Someone had already applied dressings to his wounds, and since nothing else could be done for the man except wait for the stretcher, the medic decided to check the rest of the bodies. He had finished the line of natives and was checking the Americans on the other side of the road when Glenn returned with the stretcher-bearers.

“You think you’ll find another one?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

Glenn had knelt down and was helping to check the American bodies when he suddenly called out, “Hey Doss, you’re not gonna believe it. I got another live one here.”

Word quickly spread that the medics had found a GI someone had left for dead but who was actually still alive. A small crowd formed around Doss and Glenn as they moved the man back to the aid-station.

One of the men in the group called out, “Hey Doc, you think he’ll live?”

Doss answered back, “I don’t know, but I promise you guys I’ll never give up on a man as long as there’s hope he can be saved.”

The 77th spent the next four days chasing and hunting down the remaining concentrations of enemy troops. The division’s massive firepower could never be properly utilized because of the lack of open space to maneuver its units. Instead of advancing on a broad front, the division was reduced to moving in separate disjointed columns.

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