Scotty was a Gunner!
Debunking the pervasive myth that James "Scotty" Doohan led D Company, Royal Winnipeg Rifles on D-day.
The 79th anniversary of the 6 June, 1944 invasion of Normandy, D-day, has come and gone and along with it the tidal wave of erroneous assertions that James Doohan also known as the character Lieutenant Montgomery “Scotty” Scott on Star Trek led D Company of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles during the operation. In reality, Doohan was an artillery lieutenant, serving as the Command Post Officer in the ranks of 13th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA).
Across the spectrum of those historically inclined, from professional historians to the amateurs, and encompassing the social media feeds of even a few politicians, this myth has pervaded for years. Those who ascribe to it do so passionately - I lost one long-time Twitter follower for having the temerity to point out the complete absurdity of the proposition that Doohan led D Company.
And Doohan himself doesn’t help! In one instance he recalled “I was in charge of ‘D’ Company of the Winnipeg Rifles and their fifth LCA (Landing Craft Assault).” Whether he misspoke or was misquoted I don’t know, but let’s go through the facts and see what we come up with. We’ll return to the question of this quote later.
First, it is a matter of public record that James Doohan served in the artillery. In every photo of his wartime service, he is wearing the regimental insignia of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. I have not seen a single image of him wearing a Royal Winnipeg Rifles uniform.
At the time of the assault on Juno Beach, he was a Lieutenant in the 13th Field Regiment, RCA. The regimental history clearly articulates his role on D-day:
Command Post Officers (CPO) were gun-line officers responsible for the operation of the battery command post. As you can see from the passage in the regimental history included above, Doohan and the other CPOs landed as part of the first group in order to prepare the battery positions for the arrival of the guns, which were to land in a later wave after the first wave, comprising predominantly but not exclusively infantry soldiers, had secured the beachhead. The artillery officers, including the CPO and survey officers, were included in the leading waves with the view to ensuring the artillery could be emplaced and ready to provide fire support as quickly as possible after the guns arrived on the beach and moved into firing positions. And this gives us the first glimpse into where the myth arises. But before we get to that, Doohan’s role becomes clearer thanks to Stephen Fisher, who goes by @SeaSpitfires on Twitter, wo has thoroughly researched the manifests of the various landing craft on D-day. See his post here in our discussion about Doohan’s role:
The term “Recce” as we see here (pronounced “wreckie”) is short for “reconnaissance” and “pty” is short for “party.”
An LCA is a “Landing Craft -Assault.” Essentially these were smaller flat-bottomed craft that had been dragged across the channel by larger ships, the troops climbed off the larger ships into these smaller vessels for transport onto the beach. An LCA could carry 36 troops, so it is perfectly reasonable to conclude that in addition to those 7 soldiers of Doohan’s reconnaissance party there were at least 29 other soldiers on the same LCA he was on. And while it is impossible to determine exactly which LCA Doohan was in, we do know that elements of the Winnipeg Rifles were carried in 557 Assault Flotilla, the flotilla in which Doohan and his colleagues found themselves.
Returning now to the infamous quote when Doohan said he “led” D Company. As an officer, he was likely the senior soldier on the LCA so it is entirely possible he “led” up to 29 troops of the Winnipeg Rifles off of the craft. However, that is vey different from saying he “led” D Company of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles as if he commanded it, which is the conclusion many erroneously draw.
Moreover, we know that Doohan was wounded on D-day. If he had led D Company, presumably that would have been mentioned in the Royal Winnipeg Rifles war diary. But it isn’t. Instead, it is found here, in the war diary of the 13th Field Regiment:
When confronted by these incontrovertible, and in their eyes inconvenient, truths those clinging to the myth that he led D Company usually retreat into one of two explanations:
He was a FOO supporting D Company, or;
He was seconded to D Company for the operation as company commander.
Both are false.
Firstly - the FOO. For those unfamiliar, FOO stands for Forward Observation Officer. The FOO was responsible to move with the infantry and coordinate fire support by radioing for fire missions, adjusting the fall of shot of the guns, and advising the infantry commander on the use of artillery. FOOs were Troop Commanders in the artillery and normally held the rank of captain - as we’ve seen Doohan was a lieutenant. Moreover, the regimental history names all of the FOOs that landed on the initial wave of the assault, but as we’ve seen above, that same regimental history specifically identifies Doohan as the CPO. Had he been a FOO on D-day his presence amongst the Winnipeg Rifles would be much easier to understand - indeed many just assume that is where the confusion arises. But, even as a FOO he would not have “led” D Company.
Secondly - the argument that he was “seconded” to the Royal Winnipeg Rifles as company commander. This one is laughable. The logic of this contention states that in the biggest operation on the western front of World War II at the time, during an amphibious assault that had been planned for years, when 100% of the ranks were filled, not having been laid low by casualties, the leadership of 3rd Canadian Division, 9th Canadian Brigade, and the Royal Winnipeg Rifles thought it wise to task an artillery lieutenant to command an infantry company, a position normally held by a and officer with the rank of major, two full ranks above lieutenant. The ridiculousness of this proposition is an excellent example of how cognitive dissonance - that discomfort one feels when one’s long-held beliefs are proven to be false - will allow otherwise reasonable people to believe the most absurd explanations in order to keep their preferred narrative intact.
Allow me a slight digression to introduce you to Major Lockhart “Lockie” R. Fulton (pictured). Why is Major Fulton joining us at this juncture? Because Major Fulton was the Officer Commanding D Company, Royal Winnipeg Rifles.
Strange as it may seem for those clinging tightly to the idea of James Doohan leading D Company, for the most important show of World War II up to that time, the Royal Winnipeg Rifles had the temerity, nay, the audacity to appoint one of their own infantry majors to command one of their infantry companies. The nerve!
Fulton recalls that:
Only the ship’s captain, the landing craft commander, and I knew the exact destination. Once past the point of no return, I issued true maps to all detachment commanders, who, for security reasons, had been briefed on false ones. I went over the battle plans with “D” Company’s platoon commanders, then tried to get some sleep. Tension was mounting, however, and I went up on the bridge and spent the remainder of the night with the ship’s captain.
Surely if Doohan were leading D Company it would have been he who issued the maps to the detachment commanders, and it would have been he who went over the battle plans with the platoon commanders of D Company. Where does this well mustachioed poseur get off?
Of course my sarcasm has gotten the best of me.
I understand why people cling to the myth: firstly, Doohan said it. Well, we can see from my explanation above that what he meant and what he said were probably two different things. Second, it’s a claim to fame. Many members and supporters of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles - a fine regiment - have proudly hailed him as one of their own. To lose that specialness is obviously disconcerting, so we find all sorts of intelligent, reasonable people who will ignore the tsunami of evidence to the contrary, and cling like grim death to the false narrative of a Doohan-commanded D Company.
Perhaps most disturbing are those whose only recourse is to straw-man the fact that Scotty was a gunner and accuse those, such as yours truly, of besmirching the honor of a heroic war veteran when we mention it. Of course, nothing is further from the truth. Doohan is a legitimate hero who served his country, stormed the beaches of Normandy and was wounded in the process. The fact that he did so as an artillery officer and not a Little Black Devil (the nickname of the Winnipeg Rifles) in no way demeans his accomplishment, service or courage.
So in conclusion:
James “Scotty” Doohan is a legitimate hero who stormed the beaches of Normandy as an artillery officer in the first wave of assaulting troops and likely led a number of Royal Winnipeg Rifles soldiers of D Company off their LCA into the maelstrom of enemy fire on Juno Beach before continuing his task to reconnoiter his battery’s firing position.
And if you insist on believing that he “led” D Company, you have a moral obligation to contact the descendants of Major Lockhart “Lockie” R. Fulton - the legitimate Officer Commanding D Company - and inform them their heroic ancestor is a fraud.
Good piece Dave.
Forwarded to the RCAA for promulgation.