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'{{short description|Canadian Army soldier}} {{Use Canadian English|date=May 2021}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox military person | honorific_prefix = [[Sergeant (rank)|Sergeant]] | name = Léo Major | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|DCM|size=100%}} | image = Léo Major.jpg | caption = Major in 1944 | birth_date = {{Birth date|1921|01|23}} | birth_place = [[New Bedford, Massachusetts]], U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2008|10|12|1921|01|23}} | death_place = [[Longueuil]], [[Quebec]], Canada | placeofburial = [[National Field of Honour]] | allegiance = Canada | branch = [[Canadian Army]] | serviceyears = 1940–1945 <br /> 1950–1953 | rank = [[Sergeant (rank)|Sergeant]] | unit = {{lang|fr|i=unset|[[Régiment de la Chaudière]]}} <br />[[Royal 22nd Regiment]] | battles = [[World War II]] * [[Invasion of Normandy]] * [[Battle of the Scheldt]] * [[Battle of Zwolle]] [[Korean War]] * [[First Battle of Maryang San]] | awards = [[Distinguished Conduct Medal]] and bar | spouse = {{marriage|Pauline De Croiselle|1951|2008}} | children = 4 }} '''Léo Major''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|DCM1|size=100%}} (January 23, 1921 – October 12, 2008) was a [[Canadians|Canadian]] soldier who was the only Canadian and one of only three soldiers in the [[British Commonwealth]] to receive the [[Distinguished Conduct Medal]] (DCM) twice in separate wars.<ref>{{cite news |author=Tony Atherton |date=May 7, 2005 |title=Divergent portraits of war |newspaper=The Ottawa Citizen |via=canada.com |url=http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id%3Dfbcc446c-231f-4781-940a-3ebc3dee9f94 |accessdate=July 8, 2006 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311015228/http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=fbcc446c-231f-4781-940a-3ebc3dee9f94 |archivedate=March 11, 2007 }}</ref> Major earned his first DCM in [[World War II]] in 1945 after a successful reconnaissance mission in [[Zwolle]]. As he was sent to scout the city with one of his best friends, a firefight broke out in which his friend was killed. Major continued on to find that the city was mostly deserted by the German occupational army. Thanks to his efforts, Zwolle was spared from the artillery fire that was planned the next day by the Allies. He received his second DCM during the [[Korean War]] for leading the capture of a key hill in 1951. Today, he is sometimes called by the nickname, "the Québécois Rambo".<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.journaldequebec.com/2021/04/17/un-heros-de-guerre-quebecois-enfin-honore|title=Un heros de guerre enfin honore|publisher=Journal de Québec|access-date=May 3, 2021 }}</ref> ==Life== Born on January 23, 1921, in [[New Bedford, Massachusetts]], to French-Canadian parents, Major moved with his family to Montreal before his first birthday. Due to a poor relationship with his father, he moved to live with an aunt at age 14. This relationship, combined with a lack of available work, led Major to join the [[Canadian Armed Forces|Canadian army]] in 1940 to prove to his father that he was "somebody to be proud of". === World War II === Major was serving with the {{lang|fr|i=unset|[[Régiment de la Chaudière]]}}, which landed on Juno beach in the [[Invasion of Normandy]] on June 6, 1944.<ref name="TCAJ">{{Cite news|url=http://www.seanmmaloney.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/D12-11-11-3E.pdf|title=ARMY BIOGRAPHY {{!}} PRIVATE LEO MAJOR, DCM AND BAR |newspaper=The Canadian Army Journal|access-date=March 22, 2021|language=en}}</ref> During a reconnaissance mission on [[D-Day]], Major captured a German [[Sd.Kfz. 251|halftrack]] by himself. The vehicle contained German communication equipment and secret codes.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Major|first1=Jocelyn|title=Leo Major: L'Honneur d'un Canadien|journal=Histomag '44|date=December 2008|issue=57|pages=12–23|url=http://www.39-45.org/histomag/mag-decembre2008.pdf|accessdate=May 27, 2016}}</ref> Days later, during his first encounter with an [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] patrol, he killed four soldiers. However, one of them managed to ignite a [[phosphorus]] [[grenade]]; in the resulting explosion, Major lost one eye but continued to fight. He continued his service as a scout and a sniper by insisting he needed only one eye to sight his weapon. According to him, he "looked like a pirate".<ref name="ottawacitizen">{{cite news|url=http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=fbcc446c-231f-4781-940a-3ebc3dee9f94 |first=Tony |last=Atherton |title=Divergent portraits of war |work=[[The Ottawa Citizen]] |date=May 7, 2005 |publisher=canada.com |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311015228/http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=fbcc446c-231f-4781-940a-3ebc3dee9f94 |archivedate=March 11, 2007 }}</ref> ==== Battle of the Scheldt ==== Major allegedly single-handedly captured 93 German soldiers during the [[Battle of the Scheldt]] in Zeeland in the southern Netherlands.<ref name="godutch">{{cite web|url=http://www.godutch.com/newspaper/index.php?id=1297 |title=The legendary liberator of Zwolle |website= godutch.com |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616214600/http://www.godutch.com/newspaper/index.php?id=1297 |archivedate=June 16, 2016}}</ref> According to the ''[[Ottawa Citizen]]'', Major and his friend, Corporal Wilfrid Arsenault, were assigned to determine the fates of a company of recruits that had disappeared after being sent to capture a town; however, as Arsenault fell ill, Major went alone. After finding the company's abandoned equipment and determining they had been captured, Major entered a house to find shelter from the rain and the cold, when he spotted two German soldiers walking along a dike. He captured the first German, used him as bait to capture the other, and brought his captives to their commanding officer; the officer and his company, totaling around 100 men, surrendered, though three of the soldiers were killed by Major. In a nearby group of houses, SS troops, witnessing the company surrender, opened fire on them, killing seven and injuring some others. Major disregarded the enemy fire and continued escorting his prisoners to the Canadian front line, ordering a passing Canadian tank to fire on the SS troops. He marched back to camp with the surviving 93 prisoners.<ref name="ottawacitizen" /> Allegedly, Major was chosen to receive a [[Distinguished Conduct Medal]]. However, he declined the offer as, according to him, [[Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|General Montgomery]] (who was to present him with the award) was "incompetent" and in no position to be giving out medals.<ref name="ottawacitizen" /> Whether he actually got this nomination and why he would not have received it is not clear; [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]] only contains records of his later DCM recommendation from 1945.<ref name="NatArch">{{cite web |url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C9350333 |title=Recommendation for Award for Major, Leo}}</ref> An article in ''[[Trouw]]'' claims he received seven days off instead, which he spent in Belgium, and that he was not present to receive his DCM because his car would not start.<ref name="trouw2">{{Cite web |last=Bax |first=Wouter |date=October 29, 2008 |title=Leo Major 1921–2008 |url=https://www.trouw.nl/gs-b76cd21f |accessdate=May 5, 2021 |website=Trouw}}</ref> However, Dirk Staat, conservator of the [[Nationaal Militair Museum]], has done research on Major for two years and doubts the usual telling of the events, arguing that there were no reports of a DCM recommendation<ref name="destentor" /> and that one person escorting 93 prisoners is unfathomably difficult: <blockquote>{{lang|nl|"Die verhalen gaan rond inderdaad, dat hij voor de Slag om de Schelde ook een medaille ontving. De Distinguished Conduct Medal. Hij zou daar 93 Duitsers gevangen hebben genomen. En [de medaille] geweigerd hebben vanwege de generaal Montgomery. Of hij was te laat bij de uitreiking, of liever een paar dagen weg. Maar over dat alles is helemaal niets over terug te vinden. Major vocht mee in Zeeland, en hij zal ongetwijfeld effectief zijn geweest. Maar over zijn medaille lezen we niets. En vergis je niet; als iemand tien minuten te laat bij het avondappèl was, dan staat dat in de verslagen. Of dat ze dinsdag nieuwe schoenen krijgen. En dan zou over de medaille voor Major niets beschreven staan? Zou heel raar zijn, kan ik mij niet voorstellen. "}}</blockquote><blockquote>"Those stories are indeed doing the rounds, that he also received a medallion for the Battle of the Scheldt, the Distinguished Conduct Medal. He would have captured 93 soldiers there. He refused [the medal] because of General Montgomery. But you cannot find anything about all of that. Major fought in Zeeland, and undoubtedly he would have been competent. But about his medal we read nothing. And do not be mistaken; if someone came ten minutes too late to the evening roll call, then that is in the reports. Or that they get new shoes on Tuesday. And then there would be nothing noted down about the medal for Major? Would be really weird, I cannot imagine that. "<ref name="destentor" /></blockquote>In February 1945, Major was helping a [[military chaplain]] load corpses from a destroyed [[Tiger II]] tank into a [[Universal Carrier]] in [[Uedem|Keppeln]], Germany. After they finished, the chaplain and the driver seated themselves in the front while Major jumped in the back of the vehicle. The carrier struck a [[land mine]], the resulting explosion killing the chaplain and the driver and knocking Major unconscious. Major claimed to have remembered a loud blast, followed by his body being thrown into the air and smashing down hard on his back. Upon regaining consciousness, he awoke to find two concerned medical officers trying to assess his condition. He simply asked if the chaplain was okay. They did not answer his question, but transported him on a truck to a field hospital {{convert|30|mi|km}} away, stopping every 15 minutes to inject [[morphine]] to relieve the pain in his back.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37235 |date=August 21, 1945|page=4266|supp=1}}</ref> ==== First Distinguished Conduct Medal ==== {{Infobox military conflict | conflict = Battle of Zwolle | partof = [[World War II]] | image = Leo Majorlaan.jpg | caption = Leo Majorlaan (Léo Major Avenue) street sign in the Dutch city of [[Zwolle]]. The text reads: Canadian first liberator of Zwolle (1921–2008) | date = April 13, 1945 | place = [[Zwolle, Netherlands]] | result = Canadian victory | combatant1 = {{flag|Canada|1921}} | combatant2 = {{flagcountry|Nazi Germany}} | commander1 = {{ubl|Léo Major|Wilfrid Arsenault{{KIA}}}} | commander2 = Unknown | units1 = {{lang|fr|i=unset|[[Régiment de la Chaudière]]}} | units2 = {{ubl|{{lang|de|i=unset|[[Gestapo]]}}|{{lang|de|i=unset|[[Waffen-SS]]}}|{{lang|de|i=unset|[[Wehrmacht]]}}}} | strength1 = 2 | strength2 = 1,500+ | casualties1 = 1 | casualties2 = Unknown }} At the beginning of April 1945, the {{lang|fr|i=unset|Régiment de la Chaudière}} were approaching the city of [[Zwolle]], which was shown to have strong German resistance. On April 13, the regiment's commanding officer asked for two volunteers for a [[reconnaissance]] mission into Zwolle, their tasks being to scout the German force and, if possible, make contact with the [[Dutch resistance|Dutch Resistance]], before an Allied artillery barrage could commence. Private Major and Corporal Arsenault stepped forward to accept the task.<ref name="TCAJ" /> However, Major and Arsenault, wanting to spare the city from destruction, agreed to attempt to liberate the city themselves.<ref name="ottawacitizen" /> That night, Major and Arsenault entered the farmhouse of Hendrik van Gerner, who gave them rough positions of German emplacements near the railway tracks. After leaving the farmhouse, Arsenault was killed by German fire<ref name="TCAJ" /><ref name="ottawacitizen" /> after accidentally giving away the pair's position.<ref name="trouw">{{Cite web|url=https://www.trouw.nl/gs-b76cd21f|title=Leo Major 1921–2008|first=Wouter|last=Bax|date=October 29, 2008|website=Trouw|accessdate=May 5, 2021}}</ref> In a radio interview with {{lang|nl|RTV Zwolle}}, Major told that he became mad after that, but managed to control himself.<ref name="RTVZwolle">{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wnkx4TIlzJA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/Wnkx4TIlzJA |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Interview Leo Major|accessdate=May 5, 2021|via= youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Major killed two of the Germans, but the rest fled in a vehicle.<ref name="ottawacitizen" /><ref name="destentor">{{Cite web|url=https://myprivacy.dpgmedia.nl/consent/?siteKey=Dl16ymCePojG0NiW&callbackUrl=https%3a%2f%2fwww.destentor.nl%2fprivacy-gate%2faccept-tcf2%3fredirectUri%3d%252fzwolle%252fleo-major-en-de-bevrijding-van-zwolle-feit-en-verzinsel-van-elkaar-gescheiden%257eaf9458b7%252f|title=DPG Media Privacy Gate|website=myprivacy.dpgmedia.nl|accessdate=May 5, 2021}}</ref> Deciding to continue his mission alone, Major entered Zwolle near [[Sassenpoort]].<ref name="RTVZwolle" /> What happened after that is unclear. Stories about Major's actions in Zwolle have been exaggerated and conflated with his other deeds, and there are several conflicting accounts of what actually happened, including several contradictory accounts from Major himself. However, what is certain is that Major spent several hours in Zwolle, the German military left the city, Major contacted the Dutch resistance, and he returned to camp with Arsenault's body.<ref name="TCAJ" /><ref name="ottawacitizen" /><ref name="WarDiary2">{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Library and Archives |date=July 20, 2017 |title=Record |url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/CollectionSearch/Pages/record.aspx?app=FonAndCol&IdNumber=927923 |accessdate=May 5, 2021 |website=bac-lac.gc.ca}}</ref> Thanks to Major's efforts, the planned shelling of Zwolle was called off, and the {{lang|fr|i=unset|Régiment de la Chaudière}} entered the city the next day without firing a single shot. For his actions, Major received the Distinguished Conduct Medal. ==== Differing accounts of Major's actions ==== The most popular and oft-cited story claims that Major, armed with several machine guns and a sack of grenades, launched a solo assault on Zwolle, using gunfire and grenade explosions to trick the German elements in the city into believing a large Canadian force was assaulting the city; after killing several German soldiers and making contact with the resistance, the German force fled, and Major returned to camp to report his findings to the commanding officer of the Chaudières.<ref name="TCAJ" /><ref name="ottawacitizen" /> Certain versions of the story add or change details of what Major encountered in the city, such as him taking the driver of a German military vehicle hostage or assaulting the local SS headquarters. According to Major's official recommendation for the Distinguished Conduct Medal, written 20 May 1945:<blockquote>To save as many Dutch lives as possible, it was necessary to know exactly the location of the enemy positions, many of which were not known. Private Leo Major and a Corporal [Wilfred Arsenault] from the scout platoon volunteered to enter the town and contact the underground movement to obtain the necessary information. At the entrance of the town, was a roadblock guarded by a small group of enemy. The patrol was discovered and the Corporal killed. Pte. Major killed two Germans and scattered the others. Undaunted by the death of a friend and comrade, he continued to patrol alone for 6 hours, contacting the underground and formed patrols of the local Dutch civilians, with the result that by morning the enemy garrison menaced from inside and from outside, were forced to withdraw as their position became untenable. To urge them on Pte. Major had the Gestapo headquarters set on fire. At 0400 hours 14 April 1945, this gallant soldier waded across a canal, after posting numerous patrols of the Dutch Resistance Movement at strategic points. On his way back, though wet and tired, he picked up the body of his Corporal and brought it in.<ref name="WarDiary2" /></blockquote>According to an article written after Major's death from the ''[[Canadian Army Journal]] Vol. 11.3 Fall 2008'':<blockquote>Major [was] carrying two [[Sten|Sten guns]] and a sack of grenades. He arrived in the centre of Zwolle at about 0100 hours and found the streets silent and deserted. Here, he spotted a German machine-gun nest which, since the crew was sleeping, he promptly attacked and eliminated. He then found a German scout car and forced one of the Germans, who he had captured, to drive through the streets with the lights on, flying a white flag. For several hours, Major moved through the streets in this manner, shooting at any target he could find, making an impression that a large Canadian force had arrived. The citizens were awakened but were afraid to come out of their houses. By a stroke of luck, Private Major came across the head of the local resistance, Frits Kuipers, and three of his men. By now the Germans appeared to have fled the city in panic. The group therefore returned to the town hall and the resistance fighters brought the citizens out into the streets. The local radio station was used to announce that the town had been liberated. Major was exhausted but he had to complete his mission by bringing back the body of his comrade, Wilfrid Arsenault, to his lines. The resistance fighters arranged for a car to transport the body back, but were fired on by outposts of the Chaudières. Major was furious and climbed onto the top of the car so that he could be easily seen from a distance. In this manner, he returned to the Canadian lines to report the result of his mission to his commanding officer.<ref name="TCAJ" /></blockquote> A similar version from a 2005 article from the ''Ottawa Citizen'' claims that Major "worked his way to the city centre", captured the driver of a German staff car outside a tavern, went inside the tavern with this captive, and disarmed the officer who was drinking inside. The two communicated in French, and Major learned the officer was from [[Alsace–Lorraine|Alsace-Lorraine]], "a region near France that was not terribly committed to Adolf Hitler's rabid designs"; finding the officer did not mean any harm, Major gave the officer his gun back: "I said the war is almost finished and I am a member of the advance party – I didn't say I was alone. I said it's a lovely town and I didn't want nobody to destroy that town." Major then "spent the next few hours engaging patrols whenever he could and setting off grenades where they would make noise, but do little damage", and killed four SS members during an attack on the local SS headquarters. By four in the morning, Major learned the Germans had left the city, and tried to signal the townsfolk to come outside; however, he found that this was difficult, as they were unsure of who he was. Linking up with the resistance, Major returned to camp with Arsenault's body.<ref name="ottawacitizen" /> The Dutch newspaper ''Trouw'' offers a much less fantastical account of Major's actions, presenting the "solo assault" story as a legend that Major entertained and that the actual operation was much more simple, as the Germans had already mostly left:<blockquote>{{lang|nl|Hij bereikte de stad en liep er door uitgestorven straten. Hij klopte op deuren, maar niemand durfde open te doen. "Na een poos was ik zo moe dat ik niet meer helder denken kon. Maar ik had genoeg inlichtingen, nergens ontmoette ik vijanden." Hij liep in kringen rond, verliet de stad en kwam bij een boer die hij geruststelde door het woord CANADA aan de binnenkant van zijn muts aan te wijzen. Al snel had hij contact met de ondergrondse. Hij kon terug naar zijn eenheid met de melding dat de vijand Zwolle had verlaten. ... Maar in de decennia die volgden verwerd Leo Major volgens velen tot een 'Rambo' die wild schietend straat na straat veroverde op ’zeker duizend’ Duitsers die hardnekkig weerstand boden. Het was een verhaal dat hij – zo lachen zijn vrienden mild – op het laatst ook zelf steeds iets meer ging geloven.}}<ref name="trouw"/> He reached the city and walked through deserted streets. He knocked on doors, but nobody dared to open the doors. "After a while I was so tired that I couldn't think straight anymore. But I had enough information, and I encountered enemies nowhere." He walked around in circles, left the town and came to a farmer whom he reassured by pointing at the word CANADA in the inside of his hat. Quickly he came in contact with the underground resistance. He was able to return to his unit with the message that the enemy left Zwolle. ... But in the decades that followed Leo Major became a 'Rambo' who according to many conquered street after street wildly shooting around on 'certainly a thousand' Germans who persistently resisted. It was a story that he – so his friends mildly laugh – in the end started to believe a little bit himself.<ref name="trouw2" /></blockquote> A 2017 article in ''Jonge Historici'' offers a similar account, stating that Major simply "walked through deserted streets and established contact with the underground resistance. After that he returned to his regiment, where at 9 o'clock he reported that the enemy had left the city."<ref name="jhsg">{{Cite web|url=https://www.jhsg.nl/leo-major-zwolle/|title=Uit de schaduw: Leo Major: 'dé bevrijder van Zwolle'|date=September 13, 2017|accessdate=May 5, 2021}}</ref> Similarly, in an interview with ''[[De Stentor]]'', Nationaal Militair Museum curator Dirk Staat, who had researched Major for two years, argued that much of the popularly-accepted story is a myth with no records or proof of any incident happening that night in Zwolle. Staat also believes the vehicle used by Major was not a hijacked German military vehicle, but rather just the car of the head of the local resistance, Frits Kuiper, which Major also used to ride back in the morning.<ref name="destentor" /> <blockquote>{{lang|nl|[B]eschrijvingen dat hij als rambo de stad in vuur en vlam zette, terwijl hij om zich heen schoot en granaten door de stad gooide; dat beeld klopt denk ik niet. We hebben politierapporten van die nacht gelezen, en daarin lezen we niks terug over de onrust. ... De Duitsers die hij gezien heeft, zullen het staartje zijn van de terugtrekkende bezetter. ... [Het gebouw in brand steken] past precies in de modus operandi van vertrekkende Duitsers. Die doden gevangenen en vernietigen dossiers. En wat is effectiever om dossiers te vernietigen, dan het gebouw in brand te zetten?}} Descriptions of him setting the city on fire like Rambo, while he was shooting around him and threw grenades through the city; I don't think that is the right image. We have read police reports about that night, and within we read nothing about the unrest. ... The Germans [Major] saw, would have been the tail end of the retreating occupation. ... [Setting the building on fire] fits the modus operandi of the retreating Germans. They kill prisoners and destroy dossiers. And what is more effective to destroy dossiers, than to set the building on fire?<ref name="destentor" /></blockquote> A radio program about Léo Major by {{lang|nl|RTV Zwolle}} agrees with Staat's argument that the Germans set fire to the house on the Potgietersingel, where the German police held office, to destroy their documents." The program included an interview with Major, who described the events of the night. He stated the first thing he did was go to the railroad station, because he "thought that's were the Germans would come in", and he had "heard from Hendriks van Gerner that some of the bridges were destroyed." He entered the city through the Sassenpoort. All the people he met "were either collaborators or German. And the German I met, most of them were drunk." He made noise using grenades and machine gun fire, and believed the noises he made startled the Germans into fleeing.<ref name="RTVZwolle" /> ===Korean War=== After the conclusion of World War II, Major returned to his former job as a pipe fitter. He also got an operation to fix his back, which had bothered him since the landmine explosion in February 1945.<ref name="TCAJ" /> When the [[Korean War]] broke out, the Canadian government raised a force to join the [[United Nations Command]] in repelling the communist invasion. Major was called back and ended up in the Scout and Sniper Platoon of 2nd Battalion [[Royal 22e Régiment|Royal 22^e Régiment]] (R22^eR) of the [[25th Canadian Infantry Brigade]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=http://www.kvacanada.com/stories_trfleo.htm|title=Leo Major – TRF|website= kvacanada.com|access-date=February 23, 2017}}</ref> [[1st Commonwealth Division]]. Major fought in the [[First Battle of Maryang San]], where he received a [[Medal bar|bar]] to his Distinguished Conduct Medal<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=39467 |date=February 12, 1952 |page=866}}</ref> for capturing and holding a key hill in November 1951. ==== Second Distinguished Conduct Medal ==== Hill 355, nicknamed Little Gibraltar, was a strategic feature, commanding the terrain for twenty miles around, so the Communists were determined to take it before the truce talks came to an agreement that would lock each side into their present positions. Hill 355 was held by the [[3rd Infantry Division (United States)|3rd U.S. Infantry Division]], who linked up with the R22^eR on the Americans' western flank.<ref>National Archives of Canada, RG 24, Vol 18357, R22^eR War Diary, Commander's Conference, November 19, 1951.</ref> On November 22, the 64th Chinese Army (around 40,000 men) began their attack: over the course of two days, the Americans were pushed back from Hill 355 by elements of the Chinese [[190th Division (2nd Formation) (People's Republic of China)|190th]] and [[191st Division (People's Republic of China)|191st Division]]s. The 3rd U.S. Infantry Division tried to recapture the hill, but without any success, and the Chinese had moved to the nearby Hill 227, practically surrounding the Canadian forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kvacanada.com/stories_trfleo.htm|title=Leo Major – TRF|website= kvacanada.com}}</ref> To relieve pressure, an elite scout and sniper team led by Léo Major was brought up. Armed with [[Sten gun]]s, Major and his 18 men, wearing running shoes to silence their movements, passed through enemy lines and crept up Hill 227 from the Chinese side. At a signal, Major's men opened fire, panicking the Chinese who were trying to understand why the enemy's fire was coming from the centre of their troops instead of from the outside. By 12:45&nbsp;am, Major's team had retaken the hill.<ref>Korean War Documentary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH7oJyCnDtM</ref> However, an hour later, the 190th and the 191st, totalling around 14,000 men, launched a counter-attack. Major was ordered to retreat, but refused and found scant cover for his men. He held the enemy off throughout the night, though they were so close to him that Major's own mortar bombs were practically falling on him. The commander of the mortar platoon, Captain Charly Forbes, later wrote that Major was "an audacious man ... not satisfied with the proximity of my barrage and asks to bring it closer...In effect, my barrage falls so close that I hear my bombs explode when he speaks to me on the radio."<ref>Charly Forbes, Fantassin (Sillery, Les Éditions du Septentrion, 1994) 315.</ref> Major and his platoon held Hill 227 for three days until relieved by the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division. ==Death and legacy== [[File:Pierre tombale de Léo Major.jpg|right|thumb|Léo Major's headstone at [[Last Post Fund National Field of Honour]], [[Pointe-Claire]], Canada]] Major died in [[Longueuil]] on October 12, 2008, and was buried at the [[Last Post Fund National Field of Honour]] in [[Pointe-Claire, Quebec]]. He was survived by Pauline De Croiselle, his wife of 57 years; four children; and five grandchildren.<ref>{{cite news|last=Murphy| first=Jessica|title=Decorated hero dies at 87|newspaper=The Toronto Star|location=Toronto, Canada| date=October 19, 2008|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2008/10/19/pte_leo_major_87_decorated_hero.html}}</ref> A documentary film about his exploits, {{lang|fr|Léo Major, le fantôme borgne}}, has been produced in Montreal (Qc). To commemorate the 75th anniversary of [[Victory in Europe Day|Victory in Europe]], [[Canada Post]] issued a stamp in honour of Major, "The one-eyed ghost", on April 29, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Post|first=Canada|title=Canada Post honours the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day|url=https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/canada-post-honours-the-75th-anniversary-of-victory-in-europe-day-884974850.html|access-date=August 28, 2020|website= newswire.ca|language=en}}</ref> ==Honours== <br /> [[File:Ribbon - Distinguished Conduct Medal & Bar.png|100px|center]] <div style="text-align:center"> [[File:Ribbon - 1939-45 Star.png|100px]] [[File:France and Germany Star BAR.svg|100px]] [[File:Defence Medal BAR.svg|100px]] [[File:Canadian Volunteer Service Medal BAR 2.svg|100px]] </div> <div style="text-align:center"> [[File:Ribbon - War Medal.png|100px]] [[File:Korea Medal.svg|100px]] [[File:CAN Canadian Volunteer Service Medal for Korea.svg|100px]] [[File:United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg|100px]] </div> {| style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;" class="wikitable" |- style="background:silver; text-align:center" |Ribbon || Description || Notes |- |[[File:Ribbon - Distinguished Conduct Medal & Bar.png|40px]] || [[Distinguished Conduct Medal]] (DCM) || With [[Medal bar|Bar]] |- |[[File:Ribbon - 1939-45 Star.png|40px]] || [[1939–1945 Star]] || |- |[[File:France and Germany Star BAR.svg|40px]] || [[France and Germany Star]] || |- |[[File:Defence Medal BAR.svg|40px]] || [[Defence Medal (United Kingdom)|Defence Medal]] || |- |[[File:Canadian Volunteer Service Medal BAR 2.svg|40px]] || [[Canadian Volunteer Service Medal]] || With Overseas [[Medal bar|Clasp]] |- |[[File:Ribbon - War Medal.png|40px]] || [[War Medal 1939–1945|War Medal]] || |- |[[File:Korea Medal.svg|40px]] || [[Korea Medal]] || |- |[[File:CAN Canadian Volunteer Service Medal for Korea.svg|40px]] || [[Canadian Volunteer Service Medal for Korea]] || |- |[[File:United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg|40px]] || [[United Nations Korea Medal]] || With "KOREA" [[Medal bar|Clasp]] |} * He was awarded [[Honorary citizenship]] of the City of [[Zwolle]], [[Netherlands]], on 14 April 2005.<ref>{{cite web |title=Canada Remembers Times Veterans' Week Special Edition |url=https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/classroom/canada-remembers-times/2020/page2 |website=Veterans Affairs Canada |date=August 24, 2020 |access-date=24 August 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://dutchreview.com/culture/history/visit-zwolle-home-bluefingers-french-canadian-hero/ |title=Visit Zwolle: Home of the Bluefingers and a French-Canadian Hero |last=Goyjer |first=Jim |date=2 October 2020 |website=Dutch Review |publisher= |access-date=24 August 2021 |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/leo-major-the-unstoppable.html |title=A Mad Major: The Canadian Hero Who Captured A City |last=Moncure |first=Billy |date=11 March 2019 |website=War History Online |publisher= |access-date=24 August 2021 |quote=}}</ref> ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{Portal|Biography}} * [http://www.kvacanada.com/stories_trfLeo.htm A story of Léo Major and his acclaimed work in two wars] * [http://www.badassoftheweek.com/leomajor.html Badass of the Week: Léo Major] * [http://www.thegalleryofheroes.com/leo-major/ The Gallery of Heroes] * [http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/leo-major-montreal-zwolle-nazis-1.4660487 CBC article with photos] * [https://ici.tou.tv/leo-major-le-fantome-borgne/S01E01 2018 Radio-Canada documentary Léo Major : le fantôme borgne (in French)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220195943/https://ici.tou.tv/leo-major-le-fantome-borgne/S01E01 |date=February 20, 2020 }} * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH7oJyCnDtM Korean War Documentary] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Major, Leo}} [[Category:Canadian Army personnel of World War II]] [[Category:Canadian military personnel of the Korean War]] [[Category:1921 births]] [[Category:2008 deaths]] [[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal]] [[Category:Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal]] [[Category:Canadian Army soldiers]] [[Category:People from New Bedford, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Military personnel from Montreal]] [[Category:American emigrants to Canada]] [[Category:Royal 22nd Regiment officers]] [[Category:Régiment de la Chaudière]]'