5 of the Most Badass Medics You’ve Never Heard of.

1. Pfc. Desmond T. Doss.

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Pfc. Doss already carried and lowered 75 casualties down a cliff, ran through 200 yards of bullet fire to save just 1 man, and braved grenades to aid 4 men at the mouth of an enemy cave 8 yards away. That just wasn’t enough.

On May 21st, Doss sustained a grenade injury to both legs while aiding wounded. Refusing to call for help, he continued helping others 5 more hours. When they finally got him on a stretcher, he crawled back out of it, demanding they take a more seriously injured soldier. Waiting for their return (in the middle of a tank battle ), he was hit again, shattering his wrist. He splinted his own arm with a rifle and crawled 300 yards to the aid station (1).

2. Pfc. Lloyd C. Hawks.

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When 3 others failed to rescue 2 wounded men, Hawks first crawled 50 yards through machine gun fire to aid a fellow medic. He then continued 50 more yards toward the two injured men, where a bullet shot Hawks’ helmet off his head. While on the ground, 13 more bullets hit it. Hawks dragged one of the soldiers to cover 25 yards away and went back for the other. A bullet shattered his right hip, and another, his arm. Nevertheless, he dragged the second man to the same cover. He then crawled back 75 yards to the other medic (2).

3. Sgt. David B. Bleak.

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After fixing up wounded, Bleak came under fire from the trenches. Knowing there were wounded he needed to get to, Bleak jumped into the trench, killed two men with his bare hands, and a third with his knife. He then shielded a fellow soldier from a grenade with his own body. Later, despite being shot in the leg, he carried a man downhill to safety. Two enemy soldiers jumped out to attack, but Bleak killed them both by smashing their heads together (3).

4. Sp5c. Clarence E. Sasser.

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Sp5c. Sasser’s company came under fire on 3 sides of their landing zone. Though Sasser was hit by rocket shrapnel in the shoulder, he refused aid and continued running through rocket and automatic fire to give aid. He was hit two more times, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. However, this did not stop him from dragging himself to, and treating, another injured soldier 100m away. He then crawled 200m more where he attended to the wounded for 5 more hours (4).

5. Sp5c. Charles C. Hagemeister.

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When running back and forth through a 3 sided attack giving aid, Sp5c Hagemeister was spotted by an enemy sniper. Hagemeister took the rifle off the ground, killed the sniper and 3 others who tried encircling his position. He then took out the machine gunner mowing down his people. Unable to move the wounded to a less dangerous spot, he ran in full view of the enemy to a nearby platoon. He returned with help, and evacuated the wounded (5).

So, what was it you were whining about again?

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Citations:

1. “Pfc. Desmond T. Doss.” U.S. Army Medical Department. July 8, 2009. Accessed June 17, 2016. http://history.amedd.army.mil/MOH/dossd.html.
2.  “Pfc. Lloyd C. Hawks.” U.S. Army Medical Department. July 8, 2009. Accessed June 17, 2016. http://history.amedd.army.mil/MOH/hawksl.html
3. Bernstein, Adam. “Soldier David Bleak; Won Medal of Honor.” Washington Post. 2006. Accessed June 17, 2016. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/26/AR2006032601081.html.
4. Clarence Sasser, Medal of Honor, Vietnam War. Directed by Brian Williams. Performed by Clarence Sasser. Medal of Honor: Oral Histories. October 4, 2011. Accessed June 17, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9ldSEsECQU.
5. “MEDAL OF HONOR: CHARLES C. HAGEMEISTER.” NBC News. July 16, 2007. Accessed June 17, 2016. http://dailynightly.nbcnews.com/_news/2007/07/16/4371928-medal-of-honor-charles-c-hagemeister.