Desmond Doss and the Forgotten Medics of WWII

While Desmond Doss's story is known, fewer know about Richard T. Trask, a medic who treated over 200 wounded soldiers under fire on the Volturno River in Italy without ever firing a weapon. Or about T5 Sergeant Carl E. Nelson, a Native American medic who carried 14 wounded men over four hours of heavy fire on the Rapido River in Italy. Nelson was offered the Medal of Honor but initially refused it because he felt he had simply done his job. At the Battle of Mount Gorgolesco, a single medic named Pvt. James P. Smith evacuated more wounded men in 48 continuous hours than any recorded medic in the European theater.