Hacksaw - Desmond Doss

Proving Grounds Memorial WOD

AMRAP in 75 minutes - With 20# Vest - Finished 4 + 13 within the time but I did go ahead and finish the 5th round.

Finished 5 Rounds in 79:18

• 5 Rope Climbs

• 10 Handstand Push-Ups

• 200 meter Sandbag Carry (100/70 lb)

  
  

• Wear a Weight Vest (20/14 lb)

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I was so excited and honored to do this workout. I got emotional several times thinking about this man, who he was, and what he did for others.

I started out the first round very conservative because I hadn't done vested rope climbs or vested handstand push-ups in many years. I definitely got better as I went. Until my arms got tired on the handstand push ups! Lol!

Round 1 - ~ 16:00 (I didn't look right after I got in from the Sandbag Carry but when I was about to start the rope climbs again.

Round 2 -12:50

Round 3 - 14:21

Round 4 - 18:48 - Not sure what happened in this round. Lol!

Round 5 - 17:18

So inspired and grateful that I came across this workout and this man. I am still a bit emotional thinking about him. I thought about him often during the workout and what he must have gone through.

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Background: This workout is dedicated to Desmond Thomas Doss, a United States Army corporal who served as a combat medic with an infantry company in World War II.

Desmond Doss was born on February 7, 1919, in Lynchburg, Virginia, to William Thomas Doss, a carpenter, and Bertha Edward Doss, a homemaker and shoe factory worker. His mother raised him as a devout Seventh-day Adventist and instilled Sabbath-keeping, nonviolence, and a vegetarian lifestyle in his upbringing.

Doss refused to kill an enemy soldier or carry a weapon into combat because of his personal beliefs as a Seventh-day Adventist. He consequently became a medic assigned to the 2nd Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division.

Doss was twice awarded the Bronze Star Medal for actions in Guam and the Philippines. He further distinguished himself in the Battle of Okinawa by repeatedly exposing himself to enemy fire as he proceeded to save 75 men, becoming the only conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor for his actions during the war. His life has been the subject of books, the documentary The Conscientious Objector, and the 2016 film Hacksaw Ridge.

Doss died on March 23, 2006, at age 87.

The workout was designed by Phillip Stucki of Proving Grounds Training @provinggrounds for Veteran’s Day on November 11, 2019. The 75 minutes represent the 75 lives he saved on the Hacksaw Ridge. The movements are meant to reflect the work he had to do as he hauled soldiers off the battlefield and lowered them down off the ridge.

Desmond Doss