Even as Medal of Honor recipient Desmond Doss sat in his small frame house in the Rising Fawn community of Lookout Mountain in 2003, he envisioned a day in which a feature film based on his life might be an inspiration to others.
On Friday that film, “Hacksaw Ridge,” the story of his courageous service during World War II as a conscientious objector, will open in theaters across the country.
“I know my days are numbered,” he told this writer while seated on the couch in his rural home. “If there is an opportunity to help and be a blessing to others, I want to do the best I can.”
Doss, who died in 2006, had only three years before the interview given his permission for a documentary film, “The Conscientious Objector,” to be made on his service.
Before that, according to his second wife, Frances, he hadn’t wanted to sell the story “lock, stock and barrel” because he was afraid filmmakers wouldn’t emphasize the importance of his Seventh-day Adventist faith and his reliance on the Ten Commandments as his guide.