The Conscientious Objector…

One of the most inspiring and remarkable stories to come out of World War II.

Desmond Doss, a simple farmer from Tennessee, is eager to serve his country, but refuses to take another man's life. So he ends up in the Medics where his patriotic passion can find fulfillment, but he can save life instead of kill.

However, the story gets intense at this point. The other GIs in his outfit are sure he is a coward and isn't fit for the military- certainly not for war. They openly ridicule him and seek to humiliate him, hoping to get him out of their way. Doss learns what it's like to be hit by a flying boot while praying beside his bunk in the barracks.

Fast forward to Leyte, Guan and Okinawa, "Hell Hole of the Pacific." Doss puts his own life on the line and ends up rescuing some of the very soldiers who tried to break his spirit. You'll meet some of them in this gripping true story, filmed on location in the southern Pacific just a short time before Doss' death.

The film won "Best Feature Director's Award," at the Cinequest Film Festival, "Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary," and "The Crystal Heart Award" from the Heartland Foundation. It has been aired by PBS on national television.

Kathleen Powell, founder of the Cinequest Film Festival, says "In my 14 years of running the Festival, I have never experienced such a powerful film."

Doss received the Congressional Medal of Honor- the only Conscientious Objector ever to be so honored- and when it was presented to him by then-President Harry S. Truman, the president said, "I'm proud of you; you really deserve this. I consider this a greater honor than being president."

You will catch a new definition of courage watching the story unfold of "The Conscientious Objector."

Saturday, May 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church,

1325 Watkins Road, Blairsville. No admission charge.