Hacksaw Ridge
Coach Rodgers
2/28/2018
Jay Black
Hacksaw Ridge was the bloodiest battle of world war two. The japanese troops were hunkered down in networks of caves and dugouts. The japanese were determined to hold the ridge at all cost. They wanted to kill all American soldiers until just a few were left. Much of the fighting was “hand to hand” and would be very brutal. The main person recognized in this battle is Desmond doss. Doss walked into the bloodiest battle of world war two with no gun and when asked refused to carry one. Although he did not carry a gun he did carry a bible. The fighting at the ridge started at in april 1945. The battle field was located on a four hundred foot cliff, it was fortified with machine gun nests and booby traps. The ridge got its name from being so steep. Winning the battle was the key to winning the Okinawa battle. Doss’s group was ordered to retreat and he refused to leave his wounded friends behind.
Doss refusing to retreat started facing heavy gunfire and kept doing it repeatedly. Doss ran into the kill zone while carrying wounded soldiers to the cliff and lowering them off the cliff to safety. Each time Doss saved a life he said he prayed “lord let me get one more”. Doss saved up to one hundred people on the ridge but he claimed it to be about fifty when the army said more like one hundred so they settled half way with seventy five people on record.
The invasion of Okinawa was the largest assault of world war two the battle lasted from april 1st to june 22nd 1945. The allies were planned to use Okinawa as a base for air operations for the invasion of the japanese homelands. It resulted with over 100,000 japanese deaths. Both sides suffered enormous losses in the battle of Okinawa. Americans had over 49,000 casulties including 12,520 killed. The U.S general Buckner was killed just days before the batle ended This was also the l...
