Hacksaw Ridge • Fun Facts • Biography • and The True Story

Fun Facts Part 2

After injuring his leg whilst kicking a grenade Doss is shown to be stretchered almost straight off the battlefield. In reality he treated his own injuries and lay waiting for 5 hours before he was picked up by stretcher bearers. He was then caught in a crossfire by an enemy tank, seeing a more critically injured man beside him he told the stretcher bearers to treat the other man while he waited for their return. While waiting he was hit by a sniper in his arm and decided to crawl 300 yards to an aid station with a shattered arm using of all things, a rifle, as a splint.

While at the end of the movie it says Desmond saved 75 men by directly lowering them from the escarpment, he also treated around 55 more that were able to retreat without assistance after treatment during the battle. Over the course of his tour, which lasted approximately 3 weeks, he rescued nearly 300 men.

Hugo Weaving plays Johann Schmidt (Red Skull) in Captain America-First Avenger and Thomas Doss (Desmond's Father) in this film.

The film airs on HBO on July 22nd, 2017

Tom Doss appears in his World War I Army uniform wearing the 1939-1945 Croix de Guerre. He should be wearing the 1914-1918 Croix de Guerre for distinguished service in WWI.

As the U.S. Army soldiers arrive at Okinawa and march up to the front line from the beaches, an Iowa-class battleship can be seen in the ocean in the background; although the Iowas did participate in the Okinawa Campaign, the battleship in the film is in its 1980s configuration.

Towards the end of the movie the Japanese were patrolling the area and shooting the survivors. You can clearly hear a jet flying over head.

In the opening scene, Desmond is heard reading Isaiah 40:28-31. The translation he is quoting is from the New International Version, first published in the 1970s.

During the battle on Okinawa, at least one U.S. M1 Carbine is clearly a post-World War II model as evidenced by the bayonet lug under the barrel and the fully adjustable rear sight.

Entering the court for his court martial, Doss salutes the Court. Salutes are not given indoors.

When Doss leaves on the bus for basic training, he is sitting on the right side of the bus as he says goodbye to Dorothy, but then he is sitting on the left side of the bus as it drives away.

When Desmond is reading his bible during a break in the assault on the ridge, a close-up of his hand shows an impeccably clean thumb after treating the wounded as they are covered with blood and mud.

During the basic training segment, Sgt. Howell orders the exhibitionist Private Hollywood Zane to complete the obstacle course while still naked, however, he is only seen completing one part of the course. He is inexplicably absent during the remainder of the course and is not even seen in the background or at the end of the course when the rest of the soldiers are shown gathering together.

When the 2nd truck full of KIA's drives past Doss and the other men, the positions of the dead bodies and amount of blood changes between shots.

When Sgt. Howell orders Pvt Zane to leave the barracks naked, Zane covers his privates with his hand but when the camera angle changes to a reverse shot both hands are in the air.

When Doss is getting lowered down the ridge the cables that are actually holding up the stretcher are clearly visible next to the ropes in multiple shots.

Okinawa is made of dark volcanic rock. That cliff at the base of Hacksaw Ridge is white to tan in color. Obviously (to a geologist) sedimentary rock. Clearly not on the island of Okinawa.

Shortly after the battle begins, one of the soldiers is seen using a BC-611 "Handie Talkie" to communicate with another soldier who is using an SCR-300 backpack "Walkie Talkie". The BC-611 is amplitude modulated (AM) and the SCR-300 is frequency modulated (FM). It is impossible for those two radios to communicate with each other.