# Conscientious Objector and Medal of Honor winner died **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 2, 2006, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conscientious-objector-and-medal-of-honor-winner-died/350938 "2006-04-02T12:25:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conscientious-objector-and-medal-of-honor-winner-died/350938/1 "2006-04-02T12:25:43Z")
From [this article in the Washington Post](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/25/AR2006032501181.html): > [@](#): > > Desmond T. Doss Sr., 87, an Army medic on Okinawa during World War II who saved more than 75 wounded soldiers at great personal peril and became the first conscientious objector to the receive the Medal of Honor, died March 23 at his home in Piedmont, Ala. Obviously, the man was no coward. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conscientious-objector-and-medal-of-honor-winner-died/350938/2 "2006-04-02T12:37:12Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > From [this article in the Washington Post](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/25/AR2006032501181.html): > Obviously, the man was no coward. Interestingly, two out of the only three men to have been awarded a Bar to the Victoria Cross received it for rescuing wounded men under fire. Good for him, and may all the trumpets be blowing on the other side. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2006, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conscientious-objector-and-medal-of-honor-winner-died/350938/3 "2006-04-05T12:50:31Z")
He was just buried with full military honors: [http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/04/doss.funeral.ap/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/04/doss.funeral.ap/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2006, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conscientious-objector-and-medal-of-honor-winner-died/350938/4 "2006-04-05T15:31:30Z")
Some people make you wish you could change species to something higher than their (like, say, roaches). Guys like Mr. Doss make me happy to be in ours. _salute_ ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conscientious-objector-and-medal-of-honor-winner-died/350938/5 "2006-04-05T16:40:27Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Interestingly, two out of the only three men to have been awarded a Bar to the Victoria Cross received it for rescuing wounded men under fire. > > Good for him, and may all the trumpets be blowing on the other side. What does “having a Bar to the Victoria Cross mean?” I know the VC is a high(highest?) military award, but not what the Bar would mean. ---
**Author:** ![welby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@welby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/welby)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conscientious-objector-and-medal-of-honor-winner-died/350938/6 "2006-04-05T16:59:47Z")
I’m gonna take a guess and say it’s probably similar to an oak leaf cluster on U.S. decorations - it means you earned the decoration more than once. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2006, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conscientious-objector-and-medal-of-honor-winner-died/350938/7 "2006-04-06T10:32:19Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > What does “having a Bar to the Victoria Cross mean?” I know the VC is a high(highest?) military award, but not what the Bar would mean. Highest, and yes, a Bar is a repeat award. The only combatant VC\* was a New Zealander, Captain Charles Hazlitt Upham, who won his first one on Crete and his second in North Africa. His senior officers considered his conduct in two separate battles in North Africa (Minqar Qaim and Ruweisat Ridge) _each_ worth a VC citation, but eventually compromised on a combined citation for the two battles, as three VCs would have been verging on the excessive. After being released from PoW camp, Upham subsequently had the happy experience of being hauled up by some officious colonel type for failing to salute him, just after receiving the medals. He apologetically explained to the colonel that he hadn’t seen him (he was taking a recreational stroll with some family and friends at the time) but he would have been sure to have saluted him if he had. But the colonel might like to know that Upham had just come from the Palace where he’d been chatting to the King, and _he_ didn’t seem to be fussy about saluting. At which the pompous one clocked the two miniature crosses on the uniform, his chin nearly hit the floor, and he himself gave Upham a salute of textbook precision. 🙂 (_Mark of the Lion_, Upham’s war biography, was a favourite of mine 35 years ago.)