Léo Major
Léo Major & Bar (January 23, 1921 – October 12, 2008) was a Canadian soldier. He was the only Canadian to ever get the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) twice in different wars.[1] Major got his first DCM in World War II in 1945 when he made the German army run away in the city of Zwolle; he did this by himself. He was sent to scout the city with one of his best friends, but he thought Zwolle was too beautiful for an attack, deciding instead to clear it out himself. A firefight happened in which his friend was killed, and after that, he put the commanders of each group of enemy soldiers he found at gunpoint. He did this until he could take soldier groups prisoner back at base. He did this again and again until the there were no more German soldiers in the city.[2] He got his second DCM in 1951 during the Korean War for leading the capture of an important hill.
Léo Major | |
|---|---|
 Major on 1 January 1944 | |
| Born | January 23, 1921 |
| Died | October 12, 2008 (aged 87) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Organization | Canadian Army |
| Children | Denis Major, Jocelyn Major, Daniel-aimé Major, Hélène Major |
Life
World War II
Major was serving with the Régiment de la Chaudière. They landed on the beaches in the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944.[3] During a reconnaissance mission on D-Day, Major captured a German armored vehicle (a Hanomag) by himself. The vehicle had German communication equipment and secret codes in it.[4]
Léo Major Media
Léo Major's headstone at Last Post Fund National Field of Honour, Pointe-Claire, Canada
Ribbon - Distinguished Conduct Medal & Bar
The ribbon of the 1939-45 Star, a British World War II military campaign medal, 32 millimetres wide with equal width bands of Navy blue, Army red and Air Force blue.
France and Germany Star BAR
- DefenceMedalBAR
Canadian Volunteer Service Medal BAR 2
The ribbon of the War Medal, a British World War II military campaign medal, 32 millimetres wide with a 6½ millimetres wide red band, a 6½ millimetres wide blue band and a 2 millimetres wide white band, repeated in reverse order and separated by a 2 millimetres wide red band.
Korea Medal ribbon bar
CAN Canadian Volunteer Service Medal for Korea
United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon
References
- ↑ "Divergent portraits of war". Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2006-07-08.
- ↑ Fowler, T. Robert (Fall 2008). "Army Biography: Private Leo Major, DCM and BAR" (PDF). Canadian Army Journal: 113–118.
- ↑ (in en) Leo Major | Canadian soldier. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leo-Major. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
- ↑ Major, Jocelyn (December 2008). "Leo Major: L'Honneur d'un Canadien" (PDF). Histomag '44 (57): 12–23. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
Other websites
- A story of Léo Major and his acclaimed work in two wars Archived 2022-05-26 at the Wayback Machine
- Léo Major at Find a Grave
- Badass of the Week: Léo Major
- The Gallery of Heroes
- CBC article with photos
- 2018 Radio-Canada documentary Léo Major : le fantôme borgne (in French) Archived 2020-02-20 at the Wayback Machine