(08-23-2009, 04:00 AM)Dennis Ruhl Wrote: James Doohan, Scotty, was firing phasers on Juno Beach on June 6, 1944 with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. No real degrees. The Milwaukee School of Engineering granted him an honorary degree in engineering.
Quote:At the outbreak of World War II, aged 19, Jimmy Doohan joined the Royal Canadian Artillery, and was eventually commissioned as a lieutenant in the Winnipeg Rifles, 13th Field Regiment, D Company, part of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division sent to England in 1940 for what became years of training in beach assault tactics. His first combat assignment was the invasion of Normandy at Juno Beach on D-Day. Shooting two snipers along the way, Doohan led his unit to higher ground through a field of tank mines and took defensive positions for the night. Crossing between command posts at 11:30 that night, Doohan took six hits from a German machine gun: four in his leg, one in the chest, and one through his middle right finger. The chest bullet was stopped by his silver cigarette case; the shot finger was amputated, and on screen he would generally conceal this. Despite his wounds, Doohan remained in the military, trained as a pilot for the Royal Canadian Air Force, and flew an artillery observation plane, though he was once labeled the "craziest pilot in the Canadian Air Forces".
The above bio, which is repeated hundreds of times, says he was an artillery officer and he was wounded 6 times by the Germans. Other sites say he was infantry, specifically D Company, RWR, and he was wounded by one of his own Bren gunners.
Winnipeg Rifles, 13th Field Regiment, D Company, part of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division makes no sense. I suspect it should have said "he was a lieutenant in 13th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery and was attached to D Company of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles on 6 June 1944." Apparently he was a forward observation officer for the artillery who would have spent the bulk of his time with infantry poking his nose in places you really don't want to be.? I believe he was actually commanding D Company RWR as it probably lost most of its own officers.
Kudos to you and kudos to James - my "guessing" is along your lines. Bear in mind that ALL allied seaborn invasions had a "D-Day". 6 June 1944 was the "D-Day" for Operation Overlord. My father landed then also. He started the day as an infantry company commander and at some point was a battalion Cdr (no idea of the time frame).