'Scotty' Doohan Gave Hitler the Finger (Almost Died at Normandy)

THE OBSERVER ^ | 5/19/09 | SHAWN JEFFORDS

[nickcarraway]

He bested the forces of Adolf Hitler on the beaches of Normandy and blasted genetic superman Khan Noonien Singh out of space in a far-flung galaxy.

How can James Doohan not be the greatest Sarnia of our time? Heck, he might be the greatest of all space and time?

Doohan is best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, the excitable, dependable and miracle-working chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise on the classic '60s sci-fihit Star Trek.

If your dilithium crystals were ever fried, your photo torpedo tubes jammed or you were short a man in a brawl with the Klingons, Scotty was the guy you wanted.

Doohan created a thick Scottish brogue specifically for the television show, and that along with the character's rye wit and shrill proclamations about not being able to hold the ship together during whatever crisis Capt. Kirk had plunged it into, catapulted him into the pop culture lexicon.

Through the three seasons Star Trek was on the air, a subsequent animated series, and seven feature films, he left an indelible mark. Without James Doohan the world would be without "Beam me up Scotty," a phrase that, contrary to popular belief, was never actually uttered by Capt. Kirk.

But even Doohan, a SCITS grad who excelled at math and science, could scarcely imagine the fame Star Trek would bring him nor its enduring popularity.

But it was on the battle fields of France that Doohan made an even more valuable, though less known, contribution to his city and nation.

A young private James Doohan enlisted in the armed forces at the outbreak of World War II in 1939. He describes most of his early service as a waiting game but had more than a few harrowing encounters on the battlefield, not the least of which was having his middle finger shot off. In fact, days later The Observer led with news of Doohan's wounding, alerting his parents who had yet to hear from the military.

In his autobiography, "Giving Hitler the Finger," Doohan described what motivated him to leave Sarnia for the war. He was the fourth child born to Sarah and William Patrick Doohan, an alcoholic with a stormy temper.

The military gave him the opportunity to break from a bad home life and fight the Nazis.

"The bottom line was that I wanted to have a chance to do something about that Hitler guy," he said.

Doohan lost his finger during the invasion of Normandy, and almost lost his life. He was shot six times by a sentry, four times in his leg, once in the chest and once through his middle finger, which had to be amputated.

Miraculously, a bullet struck a silver cigarette case in his shirt pocket directly over his heart. The case was a gift from his brother before the war and it saved his life. In his autobiography, Doohan admitted the circumstances sound like something from a TV show.

"Can you imagine that in an episode of Star Trek?" Doohan said. "Scotty's life saved because a stray phaser blast was deflected by a silver cigarette case given to him by his brother. Fans would shake their heads and think the writers had lost their minds, falling back on unlikely clichés."

Doohan eventually became a pilot and the experience inspired him.

"It seemed glorious and exhilarating and the stuff of fantasy for a young man from Sarnia whose life had been occupied by very earthbound, mundane concerns," he said.

Doohan wrote that in the years after the war he was self-conscious about the wound and often hid his right hand from view while filming Star Trek. Observant fans can spot the missing finger in just three episodes.

But Doohan will also be remembered as a caring man who embraced the rabid adoration of Star Trek fans, appearing at hundreds of conventions and inspiring a whole generation of engineers.

He was even awarded an honourary engineering degree from the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

Doohan died of complications from pneumonia and Alzheimer's Disease July 20, 2005. He was often quoted telling fans that "Scotty is ninety-nine per cent James Doohan and one per cent accent."

That may be true, but to me, James Doohan is 100 per cent the Greatest Sarnian.

On Wednesday, reporter Tara Hagan argues for activist and philanthropist Maud MacAdams Hanna.

[Radix]

 

 

Interesting!

 

[Mr. C]

That was the a TV episode Named “The Trouble with Tribbles”