Editing James Doohan (section)

==Military service==
In 1939, Doohan enlisted in the Royal Canadian Artillery, 14th (Midland) Field Battery of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. From there, he was moved to the 13th Field Regiment of the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division in their 22nd Field Battery. By 1940 he was a Lieutenant and was sent to train in Britain prior to Operation Overlord. He first saw combat landing in the 2nd Wave in a [[reconnaissance|Recce Party]] at [[Juno Beach]] on [[D-Day]]. The 13th Field Regiment was interspersed with the Regina Rifle Regiment landing at "Nan" Sector of Juno Beach. After shooting two [[sniper]]s, Doohan led his men to higher ground through a field of [[anti-tank mine]]s, where they took defensive positions for the night. Crossing between command posts at 23:30 that night, Doohan was hit by six rounds fired from a [[Bren light machine gun|Bren gun]] by a nervous Canadian sentry:<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Graves |first=Donald E. |title=Century of Service |publisher=Midpoint Trade Books Inc. |location=New York |year=2005 |page=244 |isbn=978-1-896941-43-1}}</ref> four in his leg, one in the chest, and one through his right middle finger. The bullet to his chest was stopped by a [[silver cigarette case]] given to him by his brother.<ref name="auto"/> His right middle finger had to be amputated, something he would conceal on-screen during most of his career as an actor, sometimes with a flesh-colored glove with a "faux finger."<ref>Despite his efforts, the injured hand can be seen in several ''Star Trek'' episodes: "[[The Trouble with Tribbles]]", "[[Tomorrow Is Yesterday]]", "[[The Enemy Within (Star Trek: The Original Series)|The Enemy Within]]", "[[The Ultimate Computer]]", "[[The Lights of Zetar]]" and "[[Catspaw (Star Trek: The Original Series)|Catspaw]]", as well as in ''[[Star Trek III: The Search for Spock|The Search for Spock]]'' when giving parts from the USS ''Excelsior'' to Dr. [[Leonard McCoy]], in ''[[Star Trek V: The Final Frontier|The Final Frontier]]'' when [[Uhura|Nyota Uhura]] brings him dinner on the bridge of the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)|USS ''Enterprise''-A]], and in the ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' episode "[[Relics (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Relics]]", when the missing finger is clearly apparent as Scotty offers Captain [[Jean-Luc Picard]] a drink while on a recreation of the original ''Enterprise'' bridge.</ref>

Doohan graduated from Air Observation Pilot Course 40 with eleven other Canadian artillery officers<ref>{{cite book|last=Knight|first=Darrell|title=Artillery Flyers at War|year=2010|page=482|publisher=Merriam Press|location=Bennington, VT|isbn=978-0-557-32964-9}}</ref> and flew [[Taylorcraft Auster]] Mark V aircraft for [[666 (AOP) Squadron, RCAF]] as a [[Royal Canadian Artillery]] officer in support of [[First Canadian Army#Order of battle|1st Army Group Royal Canadian Artillery]]. All three Canadian (AOP) RCAF squadrons were crewed by artillery officer-pilots and accompanied by non-commissioned RCA and RCAF personnel serving as observers.<ref>{{cite book |title=Battle History 666|year=2006|publisher=Abel Book Company|location=Calgary}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Fromow|first=D.L.|title=Canada's Flying Gunners: A History of the Air Observation Post of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery|year=2002|publisher=Air O.P. Pilot's Association|isbn=978-0-9730055-0-9}}</ref> Although he was never actually a member of the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]], Doohan was once labelled the "craziest pilot in the Canadian Air Force". In the late spring of 1945, on [[Salisbury Plain]] north of [[RAF Andover]], he slalomed a plane between telegraph poles "to prove it could be done", earning himself a serious reprimand. (Various accounts cite the plane as a [[Hawker Hurricane|Hurricane]] or a jet trainer; however, it was an [[Taylorcraft Auster|Auster Mark IV]].)<ref>{{cite book|last=Whitfield|first=Stephen E.|title=The Making of Star Trek|url=https://archive.org/details/makingofstartrek00whit|url-access=registration|year=1968|page=[https://archive.org/details/makingofstartrek00whit/page/n282 245]|publisher=Ballantine Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-345-24691-2}}</ref><ref name="upi19690421" />