Editing James Doohan (section)

==Military service==
In 1939, Doohan enlisted in the [[Canadian Army]], joining the [[Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery|Royal Canadian Artillery]], 14th (Midland) Field Battery of the [[2nd Canadian Division]]. From there, he was moved to the 13th Field Regiment of the [[3rd Canadian 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 on [[Normandy landings|D-Day]], landing in the second wave in a reconnaissance party at [[Juno Beach]]. 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" />