The Birth of Hacksaw Ridge: How It All Began

If you can imagine the story of Joseph from the bible, meld it with George Bailey from Its a Wonderful Life, and then Sergeant York (a World War I Medal of Honor winner portrayed by Gary Cooper and similarly nominated for Best Film, Best Actor and Best Director), you have the story of this book. It is why biopics of individuals of significance are so appealing to me - because it doesn't seem plausible that these lives can happen - yet they do!

First, let me say a little bit about Gregory Crosby who not only coauthored the book but is responsible with his wife Spice for bringing the story of Desmond Doss to the big screen where it was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Film, Best Actor, and Best Director. Gregory is the grandson of legend Bing Crosby - those that know me know that I am a big fan of Bing's (I think he is one of the top three male vocal artists in the pop genre of all time and one of the greatest entertainers from the golden age of Hollywood) and there is hardly a week that I don't listen to him. It amazes me how talent is passed down from generation to generation and Gregory certainly inherited his share of talent from his famous grandfather - particularly for story telling and movie production. He gravitates toward biopics which is my favorite genre for reading or film.

I first heard of this book at a conference I attended with Gregory's wife Spice. When she discussed how it took 17 years to bring this work to film and how God had His hand in the process there was not a dry eye in the house. I believe the work to bring this to the screen was an extension of how God worked in Desmond Doss' life - both served for His Glory and happened with divine timing. I could go on about that, but then this wouldn't be a book review would it?

The book is focused on the early life of Desmond, the only Conscientious Objector to ever win The Medal of Honor. It gets to the heart of what forms a child that could grow into a man with such integrity, faithfulness, and heroism. It is clear that God had is hand on Desmond for special things very early on in life. When this happens, the question is will the individual submit himself to the will of God or, of his own free will, not. Desmond loved God with all his heart, all his mind and all his strength so there is no question he would - even without quite knowing what that purpose was, he knew he had a special call.

The book is often written in retrospectives of what Desmond remembers that prepared him for what he would face in one of the bloodiest battles of WWII - Okinawa. I have met or heard from survivors from that battle who all say they never thought they would live to see their next birthday. Yet through those fierce battles and despite overwhelming odds, Desmond rescued 75 people from sure death. He disproved all those that thought his conscientious objector status made him a coward. In the end, he became their hero of heroes. It's as if God said to Desmond, I was testing you as I tested Abraham, now your faithfulness shall be rewarded and I will camp my angels about you so that no harm shall befall you and all will know that your God is real!

I should note that the book differs a bit from the movie in a few aspects, particularly the relationship with his beloved Dorothy. While I loved the casting and the portrayal of their relationship in the movie, the book was even more beautiful. It was a true courtship, the way it should be - so lovely, so pure, so beautiful, it warmed my heart just to read it.

As I look through the pictures included in the book, I was surprised to see his medal of honor reflecting the date of my birthday - April 29. When looking at his gravestone, I saw that he passed away on my wife's birthday. There is, of course, no real significance in this but it causes one to stop and ponder why this seemed so meaningful to me. I think C.S. Lewis said it best. We do not merely want to see beauty, we want to be united with the beauty; To pass into it, to become part of it. In some small way, things like this bring us closer to the character we love and are reading about.

Being a Christian does not mean that we will be without adversity. Desmond's life up through the war and into the end of his life is testimony to that. The bible does say that God will provide us the strength to get through it - and, if you are close enough to him, you will not complain but will glorify God in the process. May we all learn from Desmond Doss to be more like this.

I include a couple of pictures here. Most special to me is the one of Harry Truman conferring the Medal of Honor. As a historian, Harry Truman has been and always will be one of my favorite presidents because he had such unwavering integrity. As per protocol, there is a line painted in the grass to separate the Medal of Honor recipients from the President. With his knowledge of what Desmond had done, President Truman did something he never did with any other soldier in history - he crossed across the line, grabbed Desmond's hand and would not release it until the conclusion of the reading of the citation. He then leaned in a little closer and said, "You really deserve this; I consider this to be a greater honor than being President of the United States".

In conclusion, you can probably tell that I highly recommend this book. More than that, I dare you to read it without tearing up!