Out Of Obligation To A Country I Love I Will Go And Possibly Die.
On November 1, 1968, during his training with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry regiment, 4th Infantry Division, Thomas William Bennett wrote home, “Out of obligation to a country I love I will go and possibly die…”
Three months later, in a final tape home, he told his family:
“And I want you to understand also that for some reason, right now I feel - how do I explain it, let’s see - I feel that they can’t hurt me in any way. I have had and am having such a rich, full, good exciting life that, well, nobody can take that away from me… there’s very little chance that anything’s gonna happen. And if it does - so what? You know, I’ve had my 21 good years.”
What happened next was explained in a citation read during the ceremony in Richard Nixon’ While House Oval Office as the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously to Bennett’s family:
“Cpl. Bennett distinguished himself while serving as a platoon medical aidman with the 2d Platoon, Company B, during a reconnaissance-in-force mission. On 9 February the platoon was moving to assist the 1st Platoon of Company D, which had run into a North Vietnamese ambush, when it became heavily engaged by the intense small-arms, automatic-weapons, mortar and rocket fire from a well-fortified and numerically superior enemy unit.
“In the initial barrage of fire, three of the point members of the platoon fell wounded. Cpl. Bennett, with complete disregard for his safety, ran through the heavy fire to his fallen comrades, administered life-saving first aid under fire, and then made repeated trips carrying the wounded men to positions of relative safety from which they would be medically evacuated from the battle position. Cpl. Bennett repeatedly braved the intense enemy fire, moving across open areas to give aid and comfort to his wounded comrades. He valiantly exposed himself to the heavy fire in order to retrieve the bodies of several fallen personnel.
“Throughout the night and following day, Cpl. Bennett moved from position to position treating and comforting several personnel who had suffered shrapnel and gunshot wounds. On 11 February, Company B again moved in an assault on the well-fortified enemy positions and became heavily engaged with the numerically superior enemy force. Five members of the company fell wounded in the initial assault. Cpl. Bennett ran to their aid without regard to the heavy fire. He treated one wounded comrade and began running toward another seriously wounded man. Although the wounded man was located forward of the company position covered by heavy enemy grazing fire and Cpl. Bennett was warned that it was impossible to reach the position, he leaped forward with complete disregard for his safety to save his comrade's life.
“In an attempt to save his fellow soldier, he was mortally wounded. Cpl. Bennett's undaunted concern for his comrades at the cost of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
Thomas William Bennett
The son of a World War I veteran who suffered “shell shock” (today recognized as Post Traumatic Syndrome), while Desmond Thomas Doss was in basic training, his superior officers saw him as a skinny Virginian with a gentle southern accent. In the barracks, another soldier threatened “Doss, as soon as we get into combat, I'll make sure you won't come back alive."
Wounded during the Battle of Okinawa, he was credited with saving fifty to one-hundred lives (the number is generally put at 75), Doss suffered a left arm fracture from a sniper's bullet while being carried back to Allied lines and at one point had 17 pieces of shrapnel embedded in his body after attempting to kick a grenade away from himself and his comrades.
During a ceremony in the White House, President Harry Truman told Doss, "I'm proud of you, You really deserve this. I consider this a greater honor than being president." The citation for Doss’s Medal of Honor read:
“He was a company aidman when the 1st Battalion assaulted a jagged escarpment 400 feet high. As our troops gained the summit, a heavy concentration of artillery, mortar, and machine-gun fire crashed into them, inflicting approximately 75 casualties and driving the others back. Pfc. Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying them one by one to the edge of the escarpment and there lowering them on a rope-supported litter down the face of a cliff to friendly hands.
“On 2 May, he exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire in rescuing a wounded man 200 yards forward of the lines on the same escarpment; and two days later he treated four men who had been cut down while assaulting a strongly defended cave, advancing through a shower of grenades to within eight yards of enemy forces in a cave's mouth, where he dressed his comrades' wounds before making four separate trips under fire to evacuate them to safety.
“On 5 May, he unhesitatingly braved enemy shelling and small-arms fire to assist an artillery officer. He applied bandages, moved his patient to a spot that offered protection from small-arms fire, and, while artillery and mortar shells fell close by, painstakingly administered plasma. Later that day, when an American was severely wounded by fire from a cave, Pfc. Doss crawled to him where he had fallen 25 feet from the enemy position, rendered aid, and carried him 100 yards to safety while continually exposed to enemy fire.
“On 21 May, in a night attack on high ground near Shuri, he remained in exposed territory while the rest of his company took cover, fearlessly risking the chance that he would be mistaken for an infiltrating Japanese and giving aid to the injured until he was himself seriously wounded in the legs by the explosion of a grenade. Rather than call another aidman from cover, he cared for his own injuries and waited five hours before litter bearers reached him and started carrying him to cover. The trio was caught in an enemy tank attack and Pfc. Doss, seeing a more critically wounded man nearby, crawled off the litter and directed the bearers to give their first attention to the other man.
“Awaiting the litter bearers' return, he was again struck, this time suffering a compound fracture of one arm. With magnificent fortitude he bound a rifle stock to his shattered arm as a splint and then crawled 300 yards over rough terrain to the aid station. Through his outstanding bravery and unflinching determination in the face of desperately dangerous conditions Pfc. Doss saved the lives of many soldiers. His name became a symbol throughout the 77th Infantry Division for outstanding gallantry far above and beyond the call of duty.”
Cpl. Desmond Thomas Doss
Known to his family as “Guy,” Joseph Guy LaPointe, Jr. was a mailman when he was drafted in 1968. A lover of nature and avid hiker, he married Cindy Failor at the Englewood First Baptist Church during his Army training. In 2029, Cindy described him to the Dayton Daily News: “He was the most compassionate young man I had ever met. I mean, 19 years old, so compassionate, so giving, would do anything for anybody.”
The citation for the Medal of Honor presented posthumously to his family on December 16, 1971 read:
“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sp4 LaPointe, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2d Squadron, distinguished himself while serving as a medical aidman during a combat helicopter assault mission.
Sp4 LaPointe's patrol was advancing from the landing zone through an adjoining valley when it suddenly encountered heavy automatic weapons fire from a large enemy force entrenched in well-fortified bunker positions. In the initial hail of fire, 2 soldiers in the formation vanguard were seriously wounded. Hearing a call for aid from 1 of the wounded, Sp4 LaPointe ran forward through heavy fire to assist his fallen comrades. To reach the wounded men, he was forced to crawl directly in view of an enemy bunker. As members of his unit attempted to provide covering fire, he administered first aid to 1 man, shielding the other with his body. He was hit by a burst of fire from the bunker while attending the wounded soldier.
In spite of his painful wounds, Sp4 LaPointe continued his lifesaving duties until he was again wounded and knocked to the ground. Making strenuous efforts, he moved back again into a shielding position to continue administering first aid. An exploding enemy grenade mortally wounded all 3 men. Sp4 LaPointe's courageous actions at the cost of his life were an inspiration to his comrades. His gallantry and selflessness are in the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
Sp4 Joseph Guy LaPointe, Jr.
Incorrectly referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Medal of Honor is presented by the President of the United States “in the name of the Congress.” The nation’s highest military award for valor is, by law, presented only to U.S. service members who distinguish themselves “through conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life and above and beyond the call of duty.”
First presented on March 25, 1853 to six Civil War era U.S. Army volunteers, at the time of this writing in mid-May and according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, the Medal of Honor has been awarded 3,547 times. The Medal has been presented to those who served in the Army 2,451 times.
Why do we recount the stories of Thomas William Bennett, Desmond Thomas Doss and Joseph Guy LaPointe, Jr.?
Because they were conscientious objectors.
Since 1853, they were the only conscientious objectors to receive the nation’s highest honor for distinguishing themselves “through conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life and above and beyond the call of duty.”
On Saturday June 14, the nation will celebrate the 250th anniversary of General George Washington’s establishment of the Continental Army – the 250th Anniversary of United States’ Army.
It should be celebrated!
Those who have served through the years deserve to be celebrated and honored!
Two-hundred-and-fifty years!
(Years exceeded only the Pontifical Swiss Guard, officially founded in 1506 by Pope Julius II. In October 1478, Pope Sixtus IV made an agreement with the Swiss Confederacy, allowing him to recruit Swiss mercenaries during his pontificate.At the time, Swiss mercenaries were known to be some of the world’s best for their loyalty, courage and ability to fight and win against large armies. On January 22, 1506, 150 Swiss mercenaries entered the Papal States – through the “Porta del Popolo” – for the first time. Today it is the smallest and oldest active army in the world.)
Two-hundred-and-fifty years!
By happenstance, the date corresponds to the seventy-ninth birthday of the president of the United States, and he’s decided to throw a parade – 6,600 soldiers, 150 military vehicles, including tanks, and 50 helicopters, with a jet flyover and the Army’s Golden Knights paratroopers landing on the Ellipse. In his mind - and those who believe he can do no wrong, it will be a celebration of his birthday.
[EDITORS’ QUESTION: Unless their doctors have told them they won’t live to see June 14, 2026, whodahell throws a seventy-ninth birthday party that will cost an estimated $30,000,000 to $45,000,000? (Just watch! It’ll cost way more than $45,000,000 with cleanup costs, but the White House will hide millions.)]
We won’t watch the parade or the fireworks that will follow it – like 79 candles atop a White House- or maybe a tacky-beach-club-shaped birthday cake.
We’ll make special time on June 14 to pray especially those who have worn and those who today wear the uniform of the United States Army.
We will pray especially in thanksgiving for Thomas William Bennett, who wrote to his family “Out of obligation to a country I love I will go and possibly die…” and Desmond Thomas Doss, who, during the Battle of Okinawa, single-handedly saved fifty to one hundred lives and had17 pieces of shrapnel embedded in his body after attempting to kick a grenade away and Joseph Guy LaPointe, Jr., who was “so compassionate, so giving, (who) would do anything for anybody.”
We will pray for the only three conscientious objectors in 174 years of American history honored with the Medal of Honor.
We will pray for men of Honor, Courage, Conviction, and Conscience.