History UsefulNotes / LeoMajor

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Major Corporal Léo Major]] (January 23, 1921 – October 12, 2008), also known as the "[[UsefulNotes/{{Quebec}} Quebecer]] [[Film/{{Rambo}} Rambo]]", was a Canadian soldier of the French-Canadian ''[[UsefulNotes/CanucksWithChinooks Régiment de la Chaudière]]''. Born in Massachusetts and raised in Quebec, he was one of only three Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal (second only to the Victoria Cross), the only Canadian to receive it ''twice'' (a bar on the DCM), and the only Allied soldier to be awarded two [=DCMs=] in two different wars.

Not to be confused for Creator/LeeMajors

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Major Corporal Léo Major]] (January 23, 1921 – October 12, 2008) was a Canadian soldier of the Régiment de la Chaudière. Born in Massachusetts and raised in Quebec, he was one of only three Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal (second only to the Victoria Cross), the only Canadian to receive it ''twice'' (a bar on the DCM), and the only Allied soldier to be awarded two [=DCMs=] in two different wars.

In 1940, at age 19, he enlisted in the Canadian Army in the Régiment de la Chaudière, and was sent overseas in 1941, gravitating towards the scout platoon. He finally saw combat on D-Day, in which he captured a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sd.Kfz._251 Sd.Kfz. 251]] halftrack during a recconaissance mission, which contained German communitication equipment and documents. Days later, he encountered an SS patrol and killed four soldiers. However, one of them managed to set off a phosphorus grenade which caused him to [[EyeScream lose an eye]]. He refused to be evacuated, and successfully argued that he only needed one eye to sight a rifle, and said his [[EyepatchOfPower eyepatch]] made him "look like a pirate", and was allowed to continue as a scout.

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Major Corporal Léo Major]] (January 23, 1921 – October 12, 2008) was a Canadian soldier of the Régiment de la Chaudière, and was one of only three Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal (second only to the Victoria Cross), the only Canadian to receive it ''twice'' (a bar on the DCM), and the only Allied soldier to be awarded two [=DCMs=] in two different wars.

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Major Corporal Léo Major]] (January 23, 1921 – October 12, 2008) was an American-born, Quebec-raised soldier of the Régiment de la Chaudière, and was one of only three Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal (second only to the Victoria Cross), the only Canadian to receive it ''twice'' (a bar on the DCM), and the only Allied soldier to be awarded two [=DCMs=] in two different wars.

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Major Corporal Léo Major]] (January 23, 1921 – October 12, 2008) was a Canadian soldier of the Régiment de la Chaudière, and was one of only three Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal (second only to the Victoria Cross), the only Canadian to receive it ''twice'' (a bar on the DCM), and the only Allied soldier to be awarded two [=DCMs=] in two different wars.

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Major Corporal Léo Major]] (January 23, 1921 – October 12, 2008) was a French-Canadian soldier of the Régiment de la Chaudière, and was one of only three Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal (second only to the Victoria Cross), the only Canadian to receive it ''twice'' (a bar on the DCM), and the only Allied soldier to be awarded two [=DCMs=] in two different wars.

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Major Corporal Léo Major]] (1921-2008) was a French-Canadian soldier of the Régiment de la Chaudière, and was one of only three Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal (second only to the Victoria Cross), the only Canadian to receive it ''twice'' (a bar on the DCM), and the only Allied soldier to be awarded two [=DCMs=] in two different wars.

In 1940, at age 19, he enlisted in the Canadian Army in the Régiment de la Chaudière, and was sent overseas in 1941, gravitating towards the scout platoon. He finally saw combat on D-Day, in which he captured a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sd.Kfz._251 Sd.Kfz. 251]] halftrack during a recconaissance mission, which contained German communitication equipment and documents. Days later, he encountered an SS patrol and killed four soldiers. However, one of them managed to set off a phosphorus grenade which caused him to lose an eye. He refused to be evactuated, and successfully argued that he only needed one eye to sight a rifle, and said his eyepatch made him "look like a pirate", and was allowed to continue as a scout.

During the Battle of the Scheldt, he single-handedly captured 93 German soldiers in Zeeland, in southern Netherlands. During a lone recconnaissance mission on a cold and rainy day, he spotted two German soldiers by a dike. He said to himself, "I am frozen and wet because of you so you will pay." He captured the first, then tried to use him as bait to capture the other. The second tried to shoot Major, but Major killed him. He then captured their commanding officer and forced him to surrender, and the garrison then surrendered themselves after Major killed three more German soldiers. SS troops in a nearby village saw him escorting over a hundred prisoners of war, and started firing on their own troops, injuring several and killing seven. Major ignored this and continued to the Canadian lines, then ordered a Canadian tank to fire on the SS troops.

[[caption-width-right:221:[[LanternJawOfJustice With a jaw like that]], how couldn't he be {{Badass}}?]]

!!Tropes associated with Léo Major:
* {{Badass}}
** BadassUnintentional: Enlisted to serve as a recon scout, which mostly means observation and reporting duty. He ended up saving an entire town by himself.
** HeartbrokenBadass: The death of his best friend, Willie Arseneault, by a shot from a German sentry upset Major so badly that he single-handedly liberated Zwolle as retribution.
* {{Determinator}}: Lost an eye, his best friend, and suffered several severe spinal injuries. Kept fighting the war anyway.
* EyepatchOfPower: When he was first injured by a grenade, Major insisted he could still fight with one eye. Considering what he did ''after'' he lost it, he was right.
* LanternJawOfJustice: Scroll up and look at the photo of this man, then remember that he once burned down a Gestapo HQ.
* LaResistance: Assisted the Dutch Resistance, originally as a scout, then as the man who saved Zwolle.
* OneManArmy: Major's modus operandi in World War II, whether it be D-Day, the Battle of the Scheldt, or most notably, the liberation of Zwolle
* OneRiotOneRanger: Not the intent of his superiors, nor Major himself, but when his best friend was killed by the Germans on a recon mission, his response was to recapture the town they'd been scouting by himself. He succeeded.
* RankUp: He only achieved the rank of Corporal, but his tombstone does say Sergeant. Maybe he wasn't promoted further because he went AWOL for a month after being wounded?
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: For Willie Arsenault. It ended with a lot of captured Germans, a lot of dead SS officers, a burnt-down Gestapo HQ, and the town of Zwolle free of German occupation.
* UnstoppableRage: See above. Losing his best friend to gunfire from a German guard pushed Major to retake the town of Zwolle.

** BadassUnintentional
** HeartbrokenBadass
* {{Determinator}}
* EyepatchOfPower
* LanternJawOfJustice
* LaResistance
* OneManArmy
* OneRiotOneRanger

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: For Willie Arsenault.
* UnstoppableRage