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These Stars Traded Hollywood Glamor for Wartime Glory

Khalid Elhassan March 31, 2022 37 min

25. Scotty Went From Playing Soldier in High School to the Real Thing

Colorized photo of James Doohan in WWII. All That is Interesting

Jimmy Doohan was the youngest of four children born to Irish immigrants in Vancouver, British Colombia. His mother was a homemaker, while his father earned money as a dentist, a veterinarian, and a pharmacist who owned and operated a chemist shop. Doohan’s dad was an enterprising and talented amateur scientist, who reportedly invented an early form of octane gas in 1923. However, he was also a serious alcoholic, and the heavy boozing got in the way of success and kept him from following up on his discovery and cashing in.

The future Star Trek icon took up after his father in his love of science and enrolled in a technical high school where he excelled at science and mathematics. He also joined the Royal Canadian Cadet Corps – Canada’s version of high school ROTC – in 1938. WWII kicked off a year later, and Doohan went from playing soldier in high school to the real thing. He joined the Royal Canadian Artillery early in the conflict. He was first assigned to the 2^nd Canadian Infantry Division’s 14^th (Midland) Field Battery, before he was commissioned as a lieutenant and assigned to the 3^rd Canadian Division’s 14^th Field Artillery Regiment.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.