Scotty

Scotty:

I haven't seen an episode of Star Trek in many years, but it used to run as late-night TV back when I was young enough to still watch late-night TV (i.e., before I had a job and a child, leaving me in the same camp as The Geek when it comes to "lost sleep"). So, after the umpteenth blog pointed to the obit for James Doohan, I finally gave in and went to take a look.

Did you?

At 19, James escaped the turmoil at home by joining the Canadian army, becoming a lieutenant in artillery. He was among the Canadian forces that landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. "The sea was rough," he recalled. "We were more afraid of drowning than the Germans."

The Canadians crossed a minefield laid for tanks; the soldiers weren't heavy enough to detonate the bombs. At 11:30 that night, he was machine-gunned, taking six hits: one that took off his middle right finger (he managed to hide the missing finger on screen), four in his leg and one in the chest. The chest bullet was stopped by his silver cigarette case.

Rest in peace. Sir.