Star Trek’s ‘Scotty’ Served on D-Day 74 Years Ago Today

Long before he set up shop in the engine room of the Enterprise, James "Scotty" Doohan was one of the first Canadian soldiers to land at Juno Beach during the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Doohan was shot and wounded several times during the invasion. Let's pay tribute to the "Finest Engineer In Starfleet" and look back at his role in the D-Day invasion.

During the invasion, Doohan and his men were among the first Canadians to cross the minefield and take out snipers at Juno Beach.

Doohan was hit six times by machine gun fire, with one bullet severing the middle finger of his right hand. Another bullet hit him in the chest, but fortunately, was stopped by his cigarette case.

Unbeknownst to the general public, but well known to us nerds, I mean Trekkies, Doohan had to use a stunt hand during shots where he worked the transporter controls to conceal that fact he was missing a finger.

I am a huge Trekkie. In my mind, Scotty is one of the most significant characters in the Star Trek universe. More than anything, he brought a dignity and believably to the role. Personally, I found it very easy to accept Doohan as a brilliant engineer.

Rarely does one find footage or text with Doohan discussing the war. Rather, he truly enjoyed reflecting on his career with Star Trek. After a life of amazing accomplishments such as serving during the invasion of Normandy, it is the memories of his fans that Doohan called "the best thing" he'd ever done.

James Doohan passed away on July 20, 2005. Every now and then, I sit down to an episode of the original series and raise a toast to the cast members which have left us. Thank you, James Doohan, for a job well done.