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Before James Doohan became famous playing 'Scotty' in the original Star Trek, he was a Canadian lieutenant in World War II who heroically took out German snipers during the D-Day invasion. Doohan, who died back in 2005, had enlisted in the Royal Canadian Army when he was just 19 years old. He had progressed to the rank of lieutenant with the 14th Field Artillery Regiment of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division by the time Allied troops invaded Normandy on June 6, 1944. Doohan and his division were tasked with taking Juno Beach on D-Day as other Allied forces, including U.S....

Doohan did so well he became a Commissioned Lieutenant with the 14th Field Artillery Regiment of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. In 1940, he was sent to England for further training. Fast forward to D-Day – the Allied Invasion of France on June 6, 1944. The British, Americans and Canadians were each assigned a portion of France’s Normandy beaches.

From James Doohan At the outbreak of World War II, aged 19, he joined the Royal Canadian Artillery, and was eventually commissioned as a lieutenant. His first combat assignment was the invasion of Normandy at Juno Beach on D-Day. Shooting two snipers along the way, Doohan's unit made its way to higher ground and took defensive positions. At 11:30 that night, he was machine-gunned, taking six hits: 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; he would later generally hide the amputated finger...

James M. Doohan, the actor who played Scotty on the '60s "Star Trek" TV series, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, his agent confirmed Tuesday. Doohan, 84, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's "within the last couple months," agent Steven Stevens told The Associated Press. He said Doohan is in the beginning stages of the disease, a progressive neurological disorder that afflicted former President Ronald Reagan, who died June 5. Doohan, who lives in the Seattle suburb of Redmond, also has suffered for some time with Parkinson's disease, diabetes and fibrosis, the latter due to chemical exposure during World War II when...