Basic Instructions by Scott Meyer for August 19, 2020

  1. Calvins
    Algolei I  over 4 years ago

    But he was an astronaut. I saw him on the Enterprise and ever’thang!

    …holy crap! “Doohan served in the 14th Field Artillery Regiment of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. He also served as a pilot. He saw combat in Europe during World War II, including the D-Day invasion of Normandy, in which he was wounded, apparently by friendly fire.”

    This can’t be real. Am I dreaming this? Is Wikipedia pranking me right now?

    “He first saw combat landing at Juno Beach on D-Day. Shooting two snipers, Doohan led his men to higher ground through a field of anti-tank mines, where they took defensive positions for the night. Crossing between command posts at 11:30 that night, Doohan was hit by six rounds fired from a Bren Gun by a nervous Canadian sentry: 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. His right middle finger had to be amputated, something he would conceal on-screen during most of his career as an actor.”

    ZOMG!

    “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 Hurricane or a jet trainer; however, it was a Mark IV Auster.)"

    How did I never know about this?!?

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  2. V2
    Willywise52 Premium Member over 4 years ago

    Nice!

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  3. Treefrog
    skyriderwest  over 4 years ago

    Like William Shatner, James Doohan was a Canadian, and proud of it. RIP, Scotty.

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  4. Wizanim
    ChessPirate  over 4 years ago

    He always struck me as the most “down-to-earth” one of the major Star Trek actors, the most fun one to have a beer and shoot the breeze with…

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  5. Missing large
    Stephen Gilberg  over 4 years ago

    I thought you might like him for being a surviving redshirt.

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  6. Calvin   hobbes   playtime in snow avatar flipped
    Andrew Sleeth  over 4 years ago

    I get the impression Scott’s shooting straight with us on that third panel.

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    jerry400  about 4 years ago

    One of the nicest recent strips … heartwarming, to read about stars behaving well

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