Desmond Doss gave interviews throughout his later decades, particularly after the 2004 documentary brought renewed interest in his story. These interviews, along with accounts he had given to Army interviewers and church historians in earlier years, form the primary oral record of his experience from his own perspective.
Several consistent features appear across these accounts. He was not a man who inflated the drama of what he had done; his own estimate of the number rescued on the escarpment (approximately 50) was lower than the Army’s estimate and lower than the Medal of Honor citation’s 75. He spoke carefully about what he remembered and distinguished it from what he didn’t know. He acknowledged the role of the men who received the patients at the bottom of the cliff, which the popular telling often omits. He spoke about his faith without defensiveness or performance, as a matter of course.
He also spoke about the postwar costs in a way that was factual rather than self-pitying. The tuberculosis, the deafness, the arm that had not fully recovered — these were things that had happened, and he described them as such. His disability rating was 100% by the later years of his life; he was, by every formal measure available to the VA, completely disabled. He continued to live a functional and engaged life.
The Veterans History Project collection at the Library of Congress includes Doss materials that represent an accessible primary source for researchers. The collection was indexed but not fully available for direct access in the preparation of this article; researchers who want to hear Doss’s own voice on specific points should consult the collection directly, as it likely contains material that secondary sources have not fully incorporated.