5 Christian Heroes to Honor on Memorial Day

Desmond Doss joined the United States Army in 1942. He worked at the Newport News Naval shipyard when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Instead of requesting a deferment, he wanted to serve his country and was willing to risk his life on the front lines.

After joining the Army, he thought being a conscientious objector would mean he wouldn’t have to carry a gun. He wanted to be an army medic. Instead, they assigned him to an infantry rifle company, but he refused to carry a firearm. This caused issues with his fellow soldiers, and they viewed him as an oddball and a misfit. One soldier even told him he would make sure Doss didn’t return alive once they got on the battlefield. Even his commanding officers wanted him out, seeing him as a liability because he wouldn’t carry a gun. They tried everything they could to get him out. Things like intimidation, scolding, assigning him more challenging jobs to do, declaring him mentally unfit to serve, and even court-martialing him for refusing a direct order to carry a gun, but nothing worked.

He refused to leave, insisting his duty was to obey God and serve his country. In that order, his convictions were unwavering. His upbringing instilled in him a firm belief in the Bible and the Ten Commandments, which he applied personally. As a child, he had an illustrated picture of the Ten Commandments and, after seeing the depiction of Cain and Abel, he vowed never to take a life.

While in the Army, he asked for a weekly pass to attend church every Saturday, much to the exasperation of his commanding officers and fellow soldiers. They bullied, ostracized, and insulted him, and his commanding officers made his life miserable.

This turned around once they realized he could heal the blisters on their weary feet. If someone fainted in the heat or something bad happened, Desmond was always there, living by the golden rule and helping others. He repeatedly ran into battle to help his fellow soldiers.

In 1945, Japanese soldiers were defending their only barrier to an invasion of their homeland. Desmond’s men were trying to capture a rock face called Hacksaw Ridge. After they claimed the top of the cliff, they were stunned by a sudden, vicious counterattack. Officers ordered an immediate retreat, and everyone returned to the cliff except one soldier. Less than a third made it back down, and many lay wounded or left for dead. One soldier returned to the firefight to rescue as many soldiers as possible. He saved 75 lives that day.

Americans eventually took Hacksaw Ridge, and a few days later, a Japanese grenade landed at Desmond's feet, exploded, and sent him flying, seriously wounding him. The grenade tore into his leg and up to his hip, but he treated his wounds the best he could. While attempting to get to safety, a sniper bullet hit him in the arm and shattered it. At that moment, his medical career was done, but not before he insisted his men take another soldier to safety before him. His wounds caused him pain and blood loss, yet he prioritized others, emulating Jesus' teachings.

He received a Medal of Honor and other recognition, including a Bronze Star, Purple Heart with one Oak Leaf cluster, and the Good Conduct Medal. The movie Hacksaw Ridge is about his life and experiences.

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Born in 1916, Emil Kapaun was raised on a Kansas farm. His parents were of German-Bohemian ancestry. He had one sibling, his brother Eugene. Emil was a brilliant boy and learned how to repair farm implements. This skill would serve him well later in life when he became a prisoner of war.

In 1936, he finished his studies of classics and philosophy at Conception College. He started attending Kendrick Seminary and became a priest in 1940. Between 1943 and 1944, he was a chaplain at an Army Air Base in Herington, Kansas. He then joined the Army Chaplain Corps in 1944. He spent a brief time in Camp Wheeler, Georgia.

After that, he served the rest of World War II in the Burma and India Theater. Then in 1946, they promoted him to captain. Later that year, he left the Army and continued to advance his education.

In 1948, he joined the Army Chaplain Corps again. He became mobile to support the Korean War and served as a chaplain in Japan and Korea before being taken prisoner. During the fight, he moved quickly under enemy fire to rescue men from no-man's land outside the battle perimeter. He negotiated for a soldier's safety, physically stopped an execution, and rejected opportunities to escape, choosing to stay and care for the wounded. In August 1950, he received the Bronze Star.

In November 1950, the North Korean Army and its allies captured him, but he escaped after they were shot and killed. His captors recaptured him when he remained with the wounded at a POW camp. While in the prison camp, he tended the sick, looked for food, and built fires despite the guards' warnings. The prisoners credited him for saving their lives before he died from his wounds and maltreatment.

Besides other honors, Kapaun received the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, and the Bronze Star Medal. The Roman Catholic Church also called him “Servant of God.” This is the second of four stages to becoming a saint.

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Richard was born in 1918 in New Holland, Pennsylvania, and had a very normal childhood. He attended college for a Bachelor of Science in economics and enrolled in the United States Army the following summer. Richard didn’t have any interest in going to war, but he did so to live out the mandatory 12 months he signed up for. He volunteered for paratrooper training, and the Army assigned him to Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Georgia.

In 1941, President Roosevelt signed the Service Extension Act into law, mandating 30 months of service for those drafted. Since Richard volunteered, his contract still fell under the 12-month term. When the Japanese invaded Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entered the war, everything changed.

After attending Army Cadet School, the Army assigned him to the 101st Airborne Division. His promotion to Second Lieutenant followed quickly. He volunteered for paratrooper training, and the Army assigned him to Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Georgia.

A year later, he and his men deployed to England to prepare for the Battle of Normandy. They arrived in Normandy and his men informed him that the German artillery had shot down the headquarters of Easy Company. That night he led his men to assault the Nazis, specifically aiming at exits on Utah Beach. His superiors promoted him to captain from there.

Winters and his men parachuted into Son, Holland, where they assaulted the Nazi soldiers and then they moved on to Bastogne, Belgium, for the Battle of the Bulge. The Nazis launched a counterattack and Winters held ground until General Patton’s Third Army arrived. He received a promotion eight days after Hitler died. They tasked him and his men with capturing Hitler's alpine retreat. His men finished their journey on May 5th, with Nazi Germany surrendering two days later. Winters stayed in Europe, taking personal acceptance of the surrender of German soldiers.

From there, Winters headed to France and, just after marrying, received orders to deploy again. He refused and tried being a planning and training officer before resigning.

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Mother Teresa was an Albanian-Indian Catholic nun and founded the Missions of Charity. Her real name was Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu. The Missions of Charity comprised a congregation committed to helping the poor and destitute in India. Mother Teresa devoted her life to helping those in need and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. The Catholic Church canonized her in September 2016.

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William “Billy” Graham is one of the most prominent evangelists of our time. He preached to people at his Crusades, simulcasts, and evangelistic rallies. He had regular prime-time broadcasts and provided spiritual counsel to 12 U.S. presidents, including Harry S. Truman and Barack Obama. He also wrote several books, received various awards and honors, and founded Samaritan’s Purse.

This holiday serves as an intersection of memory, spirituality, and community. We should pause and reflect on those who have sacrificed, Christian and non-Christian, with our faith to guide our remembrance.

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